


Demons of the Past

by GhostShade



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon until Season 3, Characters in the future watching the past, Characters watch the episodes, Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, future timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:37:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 126,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3462926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostShade/pseuds/GhostShade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So many years in the future, Thea Queen looks back on all that happens, and has only one wish- to change it all. Convincing the Justice League that things could truly being better given the chance, she brings her family, some friends, and a few enemies from the past to view the future that lays before them by watching Oliver's memories of his journey to becoming a hero... and subsequent fall.<br/>Not everyone is alright with changing the past though, and Ra's Al Ghul is determined to make certain that things stay exactly as they are, without care to what the cost might be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Note:** Inspired by Revenant-Commanders “A Selective Gathering” and Naitch03 “Past is Prologue”  
 **Episodes covered:** Season 1 to Season 3, “The Offer”  
 **Episode transcripts:** Thank you to Naitch03 as I’m using what they’ve already done.

**Prologue**

Thea had been arrested again, and Moira felt all but to the end of her rope with her youngest. She had tried and tried again to make her daughter understand that this streak of behavior was not ideal; however, it didn’t seem to stop Thea from going out every other night and finding some new law to break. This time it had been drunken disorderly, which for Moira and Walter, was easy enough to disappear with a few extra dollars to the next police banquet.

Rubbing her weary eyes, Moira watched Thea stalk away from the cop and up towards her room. The entire time the youngest Queen threw glaring daggers at her parents. She gave them a small cheeky grin before disappearing from sight, and Walter patted Moira on the shoulder encouragingly. 

“I’ll go… speak with her,” Walter attempted, but Moira simply shook her head. 

“Leave her,” she sighed before turning back to the officer. “Thank you. It won’t happen again.”

The eye roll from the officer told the two parents exactly what they already knew: it’d probably happen again tomorrow. Closing the door, Moira waved off Walter and headed to the living room. She had been trying so hard, but since the loss of Robert…

Picking up a picture, she gave it a longing glance at both her late husband and dead son. She wished deeply that she could have changed that night, stopped Malcolm all those years ago, but it was too late. She couldn’t change the past; all she could do now was protect her only daughter.

Across town alone in his penthouse, Malcolm Merlyn leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. The Undertaking was well on its way to completion, and there was little in his way now. Every soldier had fallen in line perfectly, and within a few months to a year, his vision would be complete. His wife’s murder finally avenged. All of those scum that had taken her life and her from him would pay dearly. 

Taking a sip of some scotch, Malcolm didn’t bother to hide the smirk from his face. There was nothing in his way now; his plans would not be stopped.

Tommy sat in bed with another unnamed and unknown girl. She was fast asleep next to him, but he found at every turn sleep just evaded him. He wasn’t sure why, but lately whenever he went out, he found himself less and less interested in the girls at the bars or clubs. Tonight had been a fluke in his long dry streak, and even now, he was beginning to regret bringing her here. If it wasn’t his own apartment, he would have slipped out quietly already. 

The young billionaire could have fooled himself into thinking that the loss of his best friend had drove him to this, but that would have been a lie. He wanted it to be truth since the actuality of the reason was so much worse. He felt lucky his friend wasn’t here to see him pining over Laurel; he couldn’t be sure what Oliver would have thought, but it wouldn’t have been anything good. Of that, Tommy felt certain.

Said Laurel was knee deep in her casework, cellphone pressed to her ear. Her father was talking in her ear about going out to dinner, and she felt terrible for putting him off again. However, this case wasn’t just going to fix itself; if she wanted justice for this client, she would have to work hard to get it. She could hear her father’s concern in his voice that she was again working too hard, but she brushed it off with a few easy words and a promise to cook for him that weekend. It was the least she could do at this point

Halfway around the world, Slade Wilson was busy preparing himself. He had kept an eye on the kid ever since he discovered Oliver had survived the Amazo. He had been waiting, patiently, for his opportunity to strike, and with the kid back on the island, he couldn’t think of a better time. He had the plan all in place; he wouldn’t kill Oliver, no not right away. He’d take the kid back to Starling then force Oliver to watch as he sliced piece by piece off of his family, friends, and once lover. Soon, his promise would be fulfilled.

Every single one of Oliver’s friends and family were doing their own thing, making their own plans, until it all stopped. Time itself froze for the briefest of seconds, and one moment Moira, Malcolm, Thea, Tommy, Laurel, Quentin, and Slade were in their own respective homes, the next they each found themselves on some sort of pad surrounded by not only each other but numerous machines. 

The trip had been jolting to say the last, and only Slade and Malcolm managed to stay upright. Each casted a suspicious glance to the other, and it went without saying that both were rigid and ready to attack if the other did. Holding his composure, Malcolm eased Moira back to her feet; his eyes never leaving Slade as he did so.

“Where are were?” Thea asked, her voice a near whisper. Unlike Malcolm, her gaze was not enraptured by the unknown man, but by the three people in front of her. One was dressed head to toe in red with a lightning bolt, another dressed in black with a blue bird stretched across his chest, and finally, the last was half-man half-cyborg. Each of them were smiling, but she couldn’t help but feel a tad put off.

“And what’s up with them?” Tommy asked now noticing who Thea was staring at. Last he checked, it wasn’t Halloween.

“We apologize for the abruptness of the travel, but there is real no easy way to do it,” Cyborg calmly explained.

“Its smoother then when I did it,” Barry muttered before being elbowed by Nightwing. “Right, yes, hi.”

Malcolm kept his thoughts to himself, but he watched the three heroes with the same cautiousness that he had just watched Slade with. He didn’t know these people, and based on the looks they were giving him, they were none-the-all too happy to see him either. He couldn’t be sure what he had done, thus he kept his guard up and edged closer to Tommy.

“Look here, kidnapping a cop…” Quentin began growling but trailed off when he looked out the window and saw nothing but the vastness of space. Next to him, Laurel gripped his arm in a steel-like lock.

“I told you we should have sent them into a room with no windows,” Barry sighed realizing if they weren’t freaking out before, they sure as hell were now. 

Nightwing stepped forward before this dived out of control and whistled bringing all attention onto himself. “We know this is a shock, but we brought you into the future.”

“You what?” Laurel gasped.

“Breath,” he encouraged. He didn’t approach any further than a few feet; he wasn’t foolish enough to think that the Dark Archer was anything but helpless ever. “We brought you here to hear a story, something each of you need to see to understand.”

“What story?” Tommy asked, his face pale at the implications he was now seeing and hearing. This was the future, apparently their future, and he wasn’t sure he could wrap his mind around it just yet.

“Why?” Slade asked instead, and that seemed to be the question the heroes were waiting for. They each turned to Wilson and regarded him coldly before answering.

“So you can help us change it,” Cyborg explained.

Hidden in the balcony above, amongst the shadows, stood Roy Harper and his wife Thea. They both regarded the group with an inkling of sadness, more so with Thea. He clasped her hand in his, and kept her grounded while their friends described what they would be seeing without giving too much away.

“We could go introduce ourselves,” Roy suggested, pulling down the green hood covering his face. Age and stress lined his face; he was getting too old for this. Next to him, Thea kept her red and black one pulled up, masking her face and emotions.

“No,” she said quietly. “They need to see this without us as any more of a distraction. If we go down there now, they will think this is about us, and it’s not.”

“So you’re going to let them get the surprise of their lives when they watch the first memory and discover this is all about your brother.” Roy had learned long ago not to mention Oliver’s name anymore; it brought back too many hurtful memories for Thea. She had tried to let go of it for so long, but once she realized she couldn’t, she had convinced Roy that this was the only option left. 

“I’ll talk to them when I’m ready,” Thea growled cutting off any further arguments from Roy. “Does Laurel know yet that they are here?”

“No, I was able to get her state side before this started,” Roy nodded. He looked back down at the group once more as they were being led to the viewing room. “If this works Thea, we can save them both...”

“I know,” she whispered, bow gripped tightly as she fought to control her emotions. “If this works, we can save all of them.” She looked up at her husband with a sad smile… her mother, tommy, sara… and her brother. If they pulled this off, everything that had happened since could be avoided, and maybe finally, she could let go of her guilt.

Earth-side hidden in the desert stood Nanda Parbet. Inside the sanctuary, a lone assassin kneeled and relayed the rumors and stories he had been hearing about the Justice League. “There was a confirmed temporal shift, Master. Whatever the League is doing, the have begun.” Glancing up Maseo met his master’s eyes. “What is it you wish for me to do?”

“We wait,” was the only reply. “I am curious to see how far Thea Queen is willing to take this experiment, so for now stand down and await my orders. Do find Nyssa though.”

“You think she will stop them?” Maseo asked as he moved to stand.

“No, I think she will help them… to save Sara.” Leaning back, Oliver Queen, now Ra’s Al Ghul, frowned as he considered his once sister’s plan; it was foolish of her to try and change the past. For now, he’d let her try, but if things went too far, he would intercede without question. He hadn’t spent years under the ex-Ra’s Al Ghul, being torn apart and sewn anew for things to simply get worse because his once-blood couldn’t accept what he had done… for her… and now for everyone else. He might not be the Arrow but in his own mind, he was still helping to save the world… even if Thea didn’t see it that way.


	2. Pilot

**Pilot  
** The group was led silently through the watchtower as they were allowed to process what they had been told so far. It had been explained that they were brought into the future to watch events unfold that hadn’t occurred yet in a bid to perhaps change things. They were each still trying to come to terms with the fact they were in the actual future, and after the surprise had faded Laurel, Tommy, and especially Thea seemed rather excited about the idea. They were curious about the year and perhaps where they were at in their lives.

The older crowd were less thrilled since they each had plans back home- the Undertaking, the Promise. Unlike the rest of the group, Slade knew exactly what he was here for; he didn’t need to be told that this was about the kid. It then didn’t take a lot to put two and two together that this was Oliver’s family and friends; Slade even recognized Laurel from that precious photo. He wondered briefly if the three man tour guide wasn’t here to explain things but more to make sure he didn’t do anything.

“This is the room you will be in for the majority of your time here,” Flash explained as he opened a sliding door to reveal a large viewing room. Couches littered the windowless area with a single television in the middle of the room.

“Seriously future, and nothing better than an LED?” Tommy asked.

The three heroes ignored the comment, and the Flash continued, “There will always be someone in the viewing room above you.” He pointed up, and they glanced up to see what looked to be a mirror, but was obviously a window. A few rafters cascading up there as well. “Which means…”

“Behave,” Nightwing finished pointedly, mostly towards Malcolm and Slade. “Once this door locks, you will not be able to leave without one of us to escort you.”

“You’re worried about our safety?” Laurel asked flabberghasted how in a place like this that could even be a thought.

“We’re worried about ours,” Cyborg admitted to which Slade smirked knowingly. “There is a bathroom in here, and one of us will fetch you for dinner. As for sleeping arrangements, we have other rooms nearby you will be locked into at night.”

“If you please,” Flash asked as they filed in. 

“What are we supposed to do?” Quentin asked once they were all inside.

“Watch,” the Flash said sadly pointing to the television. “Keep an open mind.” The door slid closed locking the inhabitants in.

Outside the room, Thea came to rest against the wall, and she turned to the three. “Thank you,” she openly admitted. 

“They will figure it out,” Nightwing said. “You sure you don’t want to tell them anything else?”

Thea shook her head. “It’s better this way. They won’t have any of us to sway what they will see.”

“You really think Malcolm and Slade will change?” Cyborg asked glancing at the closed door.

“If they don’t, we end up right back here,” she muttered. 

Inside the room, everyone moved around looking to get comfortable. As much as they wanted to shout and argue about their arrangements, there was a sense of curiosity amongst themselves as well. They each wanted to know exactly who’s story they were about to see. 

People doubled up on couches with Laurel near Tommy, Moira and Thea, Malcolm sat alone as did Quentin and Slade. The three older men regarded each other coldly before turning their attentions to the screen. They weren’t sure when it would begin, but the heroes hadn’t offered much advice either on how to start.

“So,” Thea began.

“You think they could have left us with something…” Quentin began before the TV flickered to life and an image formed. Each sat back, enraptured, even Slade.

_A figure runs through a dense forest, swinging from tree branches over fallen trees, jumping over other obstacles. As the forest thins out, the figure can clearly be made out as a man, wearing a familiar green hood. He scrambles up a sheer rock cliff face and, as he comes to the top, the face finally comes into view._

Slade tried not to growl audibly; he couldn’t believe his eyes. The kid actually dared to wear her hood; to the ex-ASIS, the Queen wasn’t even fit to walk the same ground that Shado had. When Slade had the chance, he wouldn’t hesitate to remove that hood and Oliver’s head. 

_Oliver peers over the top of the cliff to the bay, and spots a small fishing vessel. Moving quickly, he runs across the top of the cliff and back slightly into the woods, where a small bundle of supplies lay wrapped in a cloth. Rapidly, he withdraws his bow, and an arrow whose tip was covered in tar. Using a flint, he lights the arrow head on fire. He notched the arrow, drew back on the string and took a moment to aim. Then he let the arrow fly-  
Into a pre-made signal on the beach, which explodes into a ball of fire._

Malcolm nodded appreciatively. The form was excellent, and the shot was precise. He wasn’t entirely sure who he was watching yet, but whoever it was, if this League was to be believed, it was someone he’d have to keep an eye on. He couldn’t risk any setbacks to the Undertaking, not when he was so close. Glancing over to Moira, he noticed an odd look cascading across her face, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had brought this on.

_On the fishing boat, the two man crew notice the fireball and head towards shore to investigate. As they come onto the shore, they walk past a ragged looking mask on a post. It was half blue and half gold, and an arrow was stuck through the right eye hole._

_"The name of the island they found me on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for purgatory._

Moira tried to stifle her gasp, and near her, Thea gripped her arm. It might have been five years, but the sound of Oliver’s voice was still remnant in the back of their minds. It seemed impossible, but Moira was certain beyond a doubt that this was her son. He was alive. The others hadn’t realized it just yet, but Malcolm had. He had seen Moira’s reaction and had quickly put two and two together. The Dark Archer considered what this meant.

_“I've been stranded here for I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For five years, I have had only one thought, one goal survive. Survive and one day return home."_

_Oliver fell to his knees in front of the two fisherman and slowly let down his hood. His face was filthy, his hair and beard matted with dirt and grime._

_Now on the boat, Oliver was bundled in a blanket, and one of the fisherman brought him some hot tea to warm him up_

_"The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the boy who was shipwrecked but the man who will bring justice to those who have poisoned my city. My name is Oliver Queen."_

It wasn’t that Laurel, Quentin, or Tommy hadn’t realized who it was the moment he had begun to speak; it was more that they just didn’t believe it. Five years, they had all moved on, and to suddenly realize that they would be thrown right back into this was unfathomable. For Laurel and Quentin, Oliver’s survival meant buried feelings of Sara’s death would be dug back up, and for Tommy, he was delighted to think he’d have his best friend back… but he found himself in turn longing for Laurel and the impending canyon that would soon form between them.

Oliver’s words struck each of them differently. No one was certain what he actually meant, and while Malcolm and Moira had suspicions about what this would mean for the Undertaking, they kept their faces masked.

_The footage shifted to a news report._

_"Oliver Queen is alive." Marrett Green announced into the camera. "The Starling City resident was found by fishermen in the North China sea five days ago, five years after he was missing and was presumed dead following the accident at sea which claimed 'The Queen's Gambit.'" The screen changed from a picture of the yacht to file footage of Oliver staggering around drunkenly. "Queen was a regular tabloid presence and a fixture at the Starling City club scene. Shortly before his disappearance, he was acquitted of assault charges stemming from a highly publicized drunken altercation with paparazzi."_

_"Queen is the son of Starling City billionaire Robert Queen, who was also on board but now officially confirmed as deceased."_

Moira hugged Thea tightly and frowned. One miracle was enough; she might not get her husband back but she’d get her son. Shooting Malcolm a glare, Moira made it none-too-obvious that she wasn’t about to let anything… or anyone… take her son from her again.

Slade considered this look and locked it away in his mind for later. 

_"20 percent of his body is covered in scar tissue. Second-degree burns on his back and arms. X-rays show at least 12 fractures that never properly healed." Dr. Lamb was saying._

Each person grimaced at that, and Quentin couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had been on that island that had caused those sort of injuries. Some scars were to be expected, but twenty percent? Quentin worried and hoped what he truly thought had happened hadn’t.

_"Has he said anything about what happened?" Moira asked, looking into Oliver's room and watching him as he looked out at the city. Oliver looked better now that he had had a shower and a shave, his hair was also neatly trimmed._

_"No. He's barely said anything." Dr. Lamb Replied. "Moira, I'd like you to prepare yourself. The Oliver you lost might not be the one they found."_

_Moira didn't respond. Instead, she entered the room, letting the door close behind her. "Oliver." She said quietly. Oliver turned around, a myriad of emotions playing across his face._

_"Mom." He finally said after a moment. Moira slowly walked towards him, and Oliver met her half way._

_"Oh My beautiful boy." She said tearfully as they hugged._

“Mom,” Thea said happily, tears in her own eyes. 

“I know,” Moira replied, her own eyes damp.

“I’m happy for you Moira,” Quentin said truthfully. 

“Maybe,” Tommy started before he trailed off. The chances Sara had been has fortunate as Oliver didn’t seem likely.

_Back on the screen, the Queen's Bentley pulled up to the front of the stately old Queen mansion. The trunk opened to reveal a long wooden crate with Chinese writings and a padlock. As the driver reached for it, Oliver cut him off._

_"I've got it." He said, grasping the case instead._

_Moira opened the front doors and led her son inside. "Your room is exactly as you left it." She said, leading him into the house. "I never had the heart to change a thing."_

_"Oliver." A refined British voice called out._

_"It's damn good to see you." A tall black man came into view. Oliver looked at him in confusion. "It's Walter," the man said, "Walter Steele."_

_On the screen, Moira tried to clarify. "You remember Walter, your father's friend from the company." She said, as if that would explain why he was at their house. Another figure entered the foyer, and Oliver walked past Walter, ignoring him completely._

“Oh,” Moira said suddenly, her lips pursed. 

“You didn’t tell him,” Malcolm sighed. “Moira, he’s not going to take that surprise well.”

_Oliver walked up to the older woman in the maid's outfit and took her hands in his. "It's good to see you, Raisa." He said warmly._

_"Welcome home, Mr. Oliver." She replied in equal warmth. She looked over to Moira. "Mr. Merlyn phoned." She said. "He wants to join you for dinner."_

_"Wonderful." Moira said, even as Oliver was distracted by the sound of a door slamming. He looked up towards the top of the stairs as his mother continued. "Oliver? Did you hear that?" he ignored her as he walked around the pillar to the bottom of the stairs._

_"Hey, sis." Oliver said as Thea stood at the top of the stairs._

_"I knew it." Thea was saying as she ran down the stairs, jumping into her brother's arms. "I knew you were alive! I missed you so much." She said, hugging him._

Thea smiled again, unable to help herself. She had missed Ollie so much that to know he would come home to them, alive, meant the world to her. 

_"You were with me the whole time." He replied, a genuine smile on his face._

_Back on the screen, we are taken over the Glades into CNRI as Joanna was arguing with Laurel._

_"Come on, Laurel," she was saying, "We're lawyers, not miracle workers. We can't win this."_

_"If we can't win a class-action suit against a man who swindled hundreds of people out of their homes and life savings," Laurel replied, "then we're not fit to call ourselves a legal aid office."_

_"And if we go bankrupt in the process, we won't be a legal aid office." Joanna shot back. "Hunt has an army of lawyers, and they're ready to bury us."_

Malcolm recognized Hunt’s name immediately. “That will be a difficult case to win Ms. Lance,” he commented, snapping the girl’s gaze towards him. “The army of lawyers is not a figure of speech in this case.”

“I can handle it,” she said confidently. 

_"You and I against an army." Laurel said on screen. "I love those odds."_

_"Why do you hate me?" Joanna groused as Laurel sat down at her desk. She stared up at her board that laid out Adam Hunt and his 'alleged' criminal activities, searching for something concrete that she could sink her teeth into. As she was looking, a news report on one of the office TV's caught her attention._

_"And in other news, details as to the castaway story you've all heard about the son of a very wealthy billionaire will soon become a legendary story. Jessica now has more details and the complete castaway story. Jessica?" Laurel got up and walked over to the TV that her colleagues were all gathered around._

_"'The Queen's Gambit' was last heard from more than five years ago. Mr. Queen has reportedly confirmed he was the only survivor of the accident that took the lives of seven people, including local resident Sarah Lance. Survived by her sister, Laurel-"_

Laurel closed her eyes and tried to fight back the wave of sadness threatening to drown her. Tommy hugged her close and whispered something intelligible in her ear, but she was busy trying to keep herself afloat to contemplate what he actually said.

“Quentin, I’m so sorry,” Moira said.

“Not your fault,” he replied, but each word was clipped. It was obvious that while he didn’t blame Moira for the yacht, he very much did blame Oliver or would soon enough. 

_Laurel shut the TV off, not wanting to hear anymore._

_The scene shifted back to the Queen mansion. It was night, and Oliver emerged from his bathroom in only a towel._

_'After five years, everything that was once familiar is now unrecognizable.' Oliver was saying, narrating his own story. On the screen, Oliver was looking himself over, cataloging his various scars._

Even Malcolm wanted to cringe; those scars were not accidents but purposeful. From his own time in the League, he had his own scars but nothing so jagged as the ones littered across Oliver. The doctor couldn’t have been more right when he said that the Oliver they got back would probably not be the one they lost. Trauma like that did not fade away.

“Those don’t look… natural,” Laurel commented, to which Slade barked out a laugh.

“No they’re not,” he outright admitted. 

“And what do you know?” Quentin growled, the cop in him unwilling to let a potential perpetrator in the same room sit un-interrogated.

“I’m sure we will see,” was all Slade said in response.

Tommy leaned forward, regarded his friend, and frowned. The scars worried him, but something else had caught his eye. ‘Oliver didn’t have tattoos… where on an island would one get tattoos,’ he thought to himself.

Looking over to Moira, Malcolm calmly said, “We will help him.”

_'The face I see in the mirror is a stranger.' For a moment looking in the mirror, he saw himself in his familiar green hood. But as he turned away, his find flew back to where it all began._

_The Queen's Gambit made its way through stormy seas. Inside the boat, Robert Queen was looking at a weather map on the wall as one of the crewmen came in from the storm._

Laurel gripped the seat tightly. “They wouldn’t…” she whispered.

_"The storm's a category 2." The crewman said. "The captain's recommending we head back."_

_Robert sighed. "All right. Inform the crew. He said as a younger looking Oliver ducked out of a stateroom._

_"Are we in trouble?" he asked._

_"One of us is." Robert replied with a small smile. Oliver let out a small laugh, but before he could say anymore a blonde-haired girl came out of the room in nothing more than her lingerie an a short silk robe._

_"Ollie?" she started, then noticed Robert. Grinning, she wrapped the robe around herself. "Where do you keep the bottle opener on this thing?"_

Quentin tried to hide his sadness at seeing his youngest, alive again, but it was difficult. Grief and guilt flashed across his face, and while Slade could inform everyone that Sara had lived past this accident, he enjoyed letting them sit in their misery more. 

_"I'll be there in a minute, Sarah." Oliver said with a grin. Sara grinned and went back into the room, her hair swaying behind her._

_Robert came up to his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, son that is not going to finish well for either of them or for you."_

_The flashback ended and Oliver was again standing in the foyer of the mansion, looking at a picture of his younger self and his dad. He was staring at it pensively, and then he heard the front door open. He put the picture down as a grin came to his face._

_"What did I tell you? Yachts suck."_

_"Tommy Merlyn." Oliver replied hugging his best friend. Tommy hugged him back strongly, happy to have his brother back._

_"I missed you, buddy." Tommy said._

“I still don’t see what this is leading up to,” current Tommy said. “They mentioned this journey to being a hero… do you think they really meant Ollie?”

“Well you did hear what Oliver said in the beginning. He’s looking for justice,” Malcolm said, curious himself to see exactly what the Queen scion would do and how he would go about it. 

Up above in the separate viewing room, Thea and Roy sat near each other keeping control of what memories would play and in what order.

“How do you think they will take seeing him kill?” Roy asked, quite familiar with these memories. 

“They don’t realize how much he has changed just yet,” Thea admitted. 

“Maybe I should go sit in there,” he suggested. “You can’t believe Slade or Malcolm will sit quietly through all of this.”

“No,” Thea said standing. “I don’t, but you can’t. You’re wearing green. They might think you’re him. I’ll go sit with them.” Grabbing her bow, Thea prepared herself for seeing her family, but internally, she had already decided she wasn’t going to reveal herself. She would provide the necessary security, but she wasn’t ready to speak with them just yet.

_The scene shifted, and the whole family (plus Tommy) was seated around the dining room table. Oliver sat at one end, with Thea and Tommy to his left and right respectively; Moira sat at the other end with Walter to her left._

_"Ok." Tommy started. "What else did you miss? Super bowl winners Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. A black president, that's new. Oh, and 'Lost,' they were all dead I think." He finished with some confusion._

_"What was it like there?" Thea asked suddenly._

“Probably not my best move,” Thea admitted with a frown. “I wasn’t thinking.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Tommy said. “I don’t think any of us really are.”  
 _  
There was silence as everyone turned to look at Oliver. He plastered a fake smile on his face. "Cold." He said after a moment, an air of finality in that one word._

_"Tomorrow, you and me, we're doing the city." Tommy suddenly announced, sensing that it was time to move on. "You've got a lot to catch up on."_

_"That sounds like a great idea." Moira said._

_"Good." Oliver replied. "Then I was hoping to swing by the office."_

_Walter and Moira exchanged glances. "Well, there's plenty of time for all that." Walter responded. "Queen Consolidated isn't going anywhere."_

_At that moment, Raisa came back into the room with a bowl of pears. She tripped on the rug and stumbled into Oliver, who deftly caught her and the bowl "Oh, I am so sorry, Mr. Oliver." She said. Oliver smiled at the older Russian._

_"Ni dlya kogo ne volnuites." He replied. There was a beat in the room as everyone processed that._

_"Dude, you speak Russian?" Tommy finally exclaimed._

_"I didn't realize you took Russian at college, Oliver." Walter said, slightly confused._

Moira frowned, “He didn’t take Russian at any of the colleges he dropped out of.”

Slade thought back to the Amazo and remembered that one Russian prisoner. He wondered if Oliver and that prisoner had met back up after the island before Oliver had returned.

_"I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter." Oliver replied bluntly._

_Conversation again died, and Walter and Moira glanced at each other. Moira looked back to her son, whose face showed only polite interest, no anger or disappointment. Moira looked over to Thea._

_"I didn't say anything." She said._

_"She didn't have to." Oliver added._

“You should have told him,” Quentin even said disapproving.

“I probably didn’t want to shock him anymore then he already was,” Moira snapped. She was certain she had her reasons in that time to not tell her son about her marriage.

_Moira's eyes narrowed slightly, then she nodded to herself, seemingly coming to a decision. "Oliver," she started, taking Walter's hand in her own, "Walter and I are married. And I don't want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father."_

_"We both believed that Robert, like you, was, uh, well, gone." Walter added._

_"It's fine." Oliver said. He stared at his mother for a few moments, before he rose. "May I be excused?" he asked, rising from his chair. Moira nodded, and Oliver turned to leave._

_"Hey, don't forget about tomorrow, buddy." Tommy called out as Oliver left, casting one last look at Thea. Round the table, looks of sadness passed over Moira and Thea's face, as they began to realize that while Oliver may have been home, he still wasn't back yet._

Malcolm shook his head. He could even tell that Oliver wasn’t himself, and to see that the family and his own son suddenly expected Oliver to be back to how he was prior to the island was unacceptable. Alone on the island or not, the scars were proof something had happened to the Queen scion. The boy would need counseling and help not a push back into how things were. 

“Please not again,” Laurel said pulling everyone’s attention back to the screen to see that a flashback had brought them all back to the yacht.

_Later that night, as a storm raged outside the mansion, in his room Oliver slept on the floor besides his open window, with rain pelting him as he slept fitfully. A voice could be heard counting "One, two, three, four…", and suddenly the screen flashed back to the stateroom on the Gambit. Oliver was busy opening a bottle of wine as Sara sat on the bed, counting the beats between the lightning flashes and thunder. "It's getting closer." Sara said, as the lights flashed on and off._

_"That's not very scientific." Oliver said teasingly._

_"What would you know about science, Mr. Ivy league dropout?" she asked as he brought two glasses of wine to the bed._

_"I happen to know a lot about science." Oliver said, handing her a glass. "I know about fermentation. I know biology…" he trailed off as he kissed her. The broke apart and Sara leaned back smiling._

_"Laurel's gonna kill me." She said, putting the glass down on the nightstand. "Oh, she's so gonna kill me."_

_"Your sister will never know." Oliver assured her, pressing her down into the mattress. "Come here."_

_Sara laughed and they kissed some more, and suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder. Sara broke away, slightly panicked. "Ok, that one was really close." She said nervously._

_"Sara," Oliver said, grinning at the girl, "we're gonna be fine." Suddenly, without warning, the room seems to flip and suddenly the far wall became the floor. Oliver and Sara were thrown out of the bed, slamming into the wall. Oliver staggered to his knees, pulling himself up on the edge of the bed._

_"Sara?" he called out, looking around. There, across the room near the door lay Sara, a small cut on her head bleeding. She blinked in confusion, then look up and back at Oliver. She reached for him- but was suddenly swept from the room "Sara!" Oliver screamed as the water claimed him, too._

Quentin’s scream was drowned out by the door opening, and unbeknowest to everyone, Thea stepping inside. The detective was on his feet, fists clenched tightly at his sides. Laurel was a bit taken back for a moment before she was on her feet hugging her father. Closing the door behind her, elder Thea moved to a nearby wall where she could get a vantage point from the rafters.

“Who are you?” Malcolm asked, blatantly ignoring the Lance’s. Their daughter was not his concern; the older one perhaps since he was certain his son had a thing for the lawyer but he cared little for their youngest. He wasn’t ready to reveal his true feelings yet, but that didn’t mean he had to pretend to have sympathy. After all, only Moira would know to look at him for his reaction.

“Security precaution,” Thea- dressed as Artemis- said, her voice modulated. She vaulted up into the rafters and took a seat. Slade chanced a glance at the woman, and he got the feeling she was glaring daggers into him.

On the screen, the video was paused thanks to Roy as the Lance’s worked to calm themselves.

“We… We knew this Dad,” Laurel said, her eyes only flickering over to the masked and hooded hero once. 

“He could have saved her,” he murmured. “He could have…”

“He couldn’t have,” Laurel replied truthfully. “There was nothing anyone could have done.”

At that statement, Moira shot Malcolm another poisonous look. If he hadn’t sabotaged the yacht, this all could have been avoided. 

Once the Lance’s had calmed and retaken their seats, the video continued.

_It seemed to take forever, but in reality it only took a few moments for Oliver to break the surface of the ocean. He gasped for breath and looked around frantically. "Sara!" he screamed._

_"Oliver!" Robert called from the life raft. Oliver frantically swum for the raft, and Robert and a crewman pulled him onboard._

_"Sara! Sara!" Oliver screamed. He lunged for the side, trying to get back in the water to find her. Robert grabbed him and held him in. "No! Dad, she's out there!"_

“See,” Laurel pointed out. “He tried.” To see Oliver struggling back into the water struck a deep cord in Laurel. She like her father had simply assumed Ollie had just let Sara go, but to see him now trying to find her reminded her of why she had cared so deeply for him.

_"She's not there, Oliver. She's gone."_

_The flashback ended, and we see Moira leaning over Oliver, shaking him lightly. "Oliver, wake up." She said loudly, trying to be heard over the storm. She shook his shoulder again "Oliver…"_

_Suddenly Oliver awoke and, running on five years of survival instincts, grabbed his mother's arm and flipped her over him onto the floor. His hand came down to her neck just as Walter yelled "Oliver!"_

“Woah,” Tommy said taken back but none-more-so than Moira. To see her son react so violently to her was breath-taking. “Where’d he learn that?” he asked when no one else did.

Malcolm appreciated the form. It was foolish for Oliver to sleep with the door unlocked given his obvious training, but first a bow and now this, Mr. Merlyn was easily intrigued. This was an all new Oliver he was seeing, and when the two boys had been children, Malcolm had easily seen how much potential the Queen scion had. He only wished his own son had shown such initiative.

_Oliver blinked and looked down, seeing his mother there for the first time. Scarred at his own actions, he rapidly crawled away from his mother back towards the window. "I'm sorry," he said ashamedly. "I'm so… I'm so sorry."_

Shaking her head, Moira frowned, but before she could say anything, Malcolm had reached over from his seat and clasped her hand tightly. “We’ll help him.” Tommy grimaced but said nothing.

_Walter helped Moira up shakily. She knelt down in front of Oliver. "No, it’s ok, Oliver." She said in a soothing voice. "It's all right, sweetheart. You're home. You're home." She emphasized._

_The scene shifted to the next day. Oliver pulled his old munitions crate out from under his bed, and deftly undid the lock. Opening the lid, he pulled out a small, worn book, and an arrowhead-shaped stone. The scene then shifted to Thea's room, where her friend Margo was crushing a pill into powder with the edge of her credit card._

The younger Thea cringed as her mother rounded on her, anger flaring in her eyes. Above them, the elder Thea tried not to chuckle at the foolish young girl she had once been. They weren’t lying when they said naivety could be better. What an easier time that had been, but Thea was glad to some degree of how she had changed. At least she wasn’t dead in a ditch due to drugs, which was exactly where her life had been heading before Oliver had returned.

_"Where did you get these?" Thea asked, smiling down at her friend as she leaned on her desk._

_"Roxies. Thank you, daddy's ACL tear." Margo replied smugly. Suddenly there was a knock on her door, and Margo hurriedly hid the pill bottle in her jacket as Thea hurriedly threw a folder over the line just as Oliver entered the room._

_"Ollie." Thea said with a smile. Oliver laughed lightly._

_"No one's called me that in a while, Speedy." He replied._

_Thea closed her eyes, half in annoyance and half in embarrassment._

_"Worst nickname ever."_

_"What, always chasing after me as a kid? I thought it fit pretty well." He replied. A beat. "Maybe it still does."_

_Margo took her cue and grabbed her bag. "See you at school, Speedy." She said. She threw a grin over her shoulder at Thea as she left. Thea laughed._

_"Sorry about her." She said._

_"I have something for you." Oliver held up the stone. Thea smiled in amazement._

_"You did not come back from a deserted island with a souvenir."_

_"It's a Hozen." Oliver explained. "And in Buddhism, it symbolizes reconnecting. I kept it in hopes that one day, it would reconnect me with you." He finished, handing the Hozen to his sister. Thea took it and smiled warmly at her brother._

Slade scowled; he had wondered where that had gone to. Seeing Oliver give it to his younger sister as if it hadn’t meant anything to him, to Shado, made his blood boil. He was half-tempted to stand up and go strangle the younger Queen now. There would be more satisfaction of course to making Oliver watch, but Slade was certain he could relay all the necessary details to make it hurt all the same.

However, when he went to move, the tell-tale sound of an arrow being pulled back pulled everyone’s attention to the rafters. “Make no mistake,” she growled, “I have no problem taking out your other eye. Healing or not, it will still hurt like a bitch.”

Grinning, Slade returned slowly to his seat. He didn’t know who this girl was, but he liked her attitude. Unlike Oliver, she didn’t seem to be useless. Had the older Thea known his thoughts, she would have put the arrow through his other eye nonetheless.

_"A rock! That is sweet." A voice said from the door. Oliver smiled as Tommy entered the room. "You know," he started, "I want one of those t-shirts that says 'my friend was a castaway, and all I got was this crappy shirt'."_

_Thea smiled at his antics, then looked to her brother. "Don't let him get you into too much trouble." She advised. "You just got back. Take it slow." She embraced Oliver, who gave her a kiss on the cheek. Thea went back to her desk._

_"Ahem. The city awaits." Tommy announced, and after shooting Thea a smile, the two left the room. As they walked down the hallway, Tommy looked to Oliver. "Have you noticed how hot your sister's gotten?" he asked, At Oliver's glare, "Because I have not."_

_The scene shifted again, and now Tommy an Oliver were driving through the Glades in Tommy's Mercedes with the radio blaring._

_"Your funeral blew." Tommy announced. Oliver looked over at him with a grin._

_"Did you get lucky?" he asked, and they both laughed._

_"Fish in a barrel." Tommy said. "They were so sad."_

_"No." Oliver said jokingly._

_"And huggy." Tommy continued. "And I am counting on another target rich environment for your welcome home bash."_

“Not even back for a week and already?” Quentin asked with a sneer. “I see some things don’t change.” Tommy flinched as if visibly struck, but he didn’t move to defend himself much to his father’s disappointment.  
 _  
Oliver looked to his friend in confusion. "At my what?"_

_"You came back from the dead." Tommy stated. "This calls for a party. You tell me where and when. I'll take care of everything." They came to a stop at a corner. Across from them, a dilapidated building stood, with several homeless people out front standing close to a warming barrel. To the right stood an old, abandoned steel mill- The Queen steel mill. "And this city's gone to crap." Tommy continued. "Your dad sold his factory just in time. Why'd you want to drive through this neighborhood anyway?" he asked as Oliver looked at the factory._

_"No reason" he finally said._

Malcolm and Moira both considered what Oliver was planning. He obviously had a reason for wanting to drive through the Glades, and it worried Moira to no end what that meant. She was well aware that the Undertaking was soon to completion, and she didn’t want her son anywhere near the Glades if possible. 

_"So what'd you miss the most?" Tommy asked him, turning to him and grinning. "Steaks at the Palm, drinks at the station, meaningless sex?"_

_"Laurel."_

Even Thea laughed. “At least that didn’t change.” No matter what she saw next, she at least knew this was her brother.

_The smiled dropped off of his face. "Everyone is happy you're alive." He said, trying to reason with his friend. "You want to see the one person who isn't?"_

_Oliver just shrugged his shoulders._

_The scene shifted again to CNRI, where Joana was talking with Laurel._

_"Laurel, I just got this from Hunt's lawyers." She handed Laurel a folder. "They filed a change of venue. We are now in front of Judge Grell."_

_"Hunt funded Grell's reelection campaign." Laurel said, walking back towards her desk. Joanna joined her._

_"Mm-hmm." She said._

_"He's got Grell in his back pocket." Laurel stated._

_"You know, its fun being your friend." Joanna replied. "I get to say 'I told you so' a lot."_

_"No." Laurel shook her head. "Adam Hunt is not smarter than we are."_

_"No, he's just richer and willing to commit multiple felonies."_

Malcolm nodded along. “You have your hands full Ms. Lance.”

_"We don't need to go outside the law," Laurel started._

_"To find justice." Joanna finished. " Your dad's favorite jingle." Joanna smiled and walked away, and Laurel turned around-_

_To see Oliver Queen standing by her desk, looking at her board on Adam Hunt. Oliver looked over to Laurel and gave a slight smile_

_"Hello, Laurel."_

Tommy, Thea, and Laurel all cringed. They could see what was coming next. Even though Laurel now could say she would approach the situation differently, she could already see her self in this memory would not do any of this lightly.  
 _  
The scene shifted, and the two were walking through an outdoor plaza. "You went to law school." Oliver was saying, "You said you would."_

_"Yeah." Laurel agreed sullenly. "Everyone's proud."_

_"Adam Hunt's a heavy hitter." Oliver tried. "You sure you want to get in the ring with him?"_

_"Five years and you want to talk about Adam Hunt?" she asked. Oliver shook his head._

_"No. Not really." Laurel sighed and they stopped walking, Oliver turning to face her._

_"Why are you here, Ollie?" she asked tiredly._

_"To apologize." Oliver replied. "It was my fault. I wanted to ask you not to blame her."_

_"For what?" she asked. "Falling under your spell? How could I possibly blame her for doing the same things that I did?"_

_"I never meant to-"_

_"She was my sister." Laurel cut him off. "I couldn't be angry because she was dead. I couldn't grieve because I was so angry. That's what happens when your sister dies while screwing your boyfriend." She paused to compose herself. "We buried an empty coffin," she finally said, "because her body was at the bottom of the ocean- where you left her. It should have been you."_

_Oliver looked pained, the truth of her words stinging. "I know that it's too late to say this, but I'm sorry." He said at last._

_"Yeah, I'm sorry, too." Laurel replied acidly. "I'd hoped that you'd rot in hell a whole lot longer than five years." She stalked past him back to CNRI. As she passed by Tommy, she asked' "How did you think that was gonna go, Tommy?"_

Laurel ducked her head. After seeing his scars, she could tell she had been beyond harsh to Oliver. He hadn’t meant to get her sister killed, and while she still didn’t understand why he even took her, Laurel could have done that a tad more nicely. Next to her, Tommy sighed. That went about as well as expected.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to completely reign in my anger,” Laurel admitted, “but next time I’ll try.”

"About like that." He replied.

Soon, Tommy and Oliver were walking back towards the alley where Tommy had parked his car  
.  
 _"Ok, so we took care of that." Tommy was saying. "Good call. Now we can make up for lost time. If you're not too sick of fish, I suggest we find some leggy models and eat Sushi all day. What do you say?" he stopped suddenly as a van came from out of nowhere and pulled up right behind his car, slamming on the breaks before it hit the two friends. Two men in demon masks and blue hoodies came out of nowhere. "What're they doing?" Tommy asked, startled. Before either boy could react, the masked men shot the pair with tranquilizer darts. Tommy went down immediately, but Oliver took a few more moments, as he started fading, he saw an cook come out of the back of a restaurant, taking out the trash. He only had time to say "What the hell?" before a third demon-masked man with a submachine gun shot him. The Last thing Oliver saw before he passed out was one of the demon masks peering down at him._

Moira glanced towards Malcolm, who looked enraged at the sight of his son being kidnapped. That told Mrs. Queen enough that this had nothing to do with him, and it struck deep within her that perhaps this was her… she would do whatever she could to protect her son, and if that meant proving to Malcolm that Oliver knew nothing, she would do just that.

Tommy noticed immediately the scowl on his father’s face. The fact his father looked concerned and actually angered at his kidnapping made Tommy wonder if he should have gotten himself kidnapped sooner. 

_The scene flashed back to the life raft, where the three survivors sat, floating on the rough sea at night. Robert handed Oliver a bottle of water. "Here, son." He said, "Drink."_

_"What the hell are you doing?!" the crewman shouted. "That's all we've got!"_

_Robert glared at the man. "If anybody's making it out of here, it's gonna be him." He said as Oliver took a drink of water. Robert put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to his chest._

_"I'm so sorry." He said. "I thought I'd have more time. I'm not the man you think I am. I didn't build our city, I failed it. And I wasn't the only one."_

‘What did you tell him Robert?’ Malcolm thought coldly. He didn’t want to hurt Oliver if he didn’t have to, but he couldn’t let the scion get in his way either.

The scene faded to black, and suddenly a voice could be heard.

_"Mr. Queen? Mr. Queen!" the blackness was lifted, reveling one of the demon masked men as he pulled the bag up from over Oliver's head. The man held a Taser and hit the activation stud, causing a current of electricity to flow between the two prongs at the end. "Did your father survive that accident?" Oliver remained silent, looking around the room. He saw three men, one with a submachine gun, another, also with a gun, standing near Tommy, who was still passed out on a wooden pallet. "I ask the questions." The man said, "You give me the answers." Oliver was still silent, so the man stuck the Taser on his chest, shocking him. Oliver groaned loudly behind clenched teeth._

Everyone in the room cringed at the sight of seeing Oliver tortured on the screen. Only Slade looked gleeful and slightly disappointed. When Slade had Oliver, he had actually gotten the kid to scream; perhaps this was something else Oliver had learned… hide and compartmentalize the pain.

_"Did he make it to the island? Did he tell you anything?" the mask asked again, and again Oliver was silent, so he taserd him. Oliver let out another groan. Finally, he looked up at the mask._

_"Yes, he did." He said._

_"What did he tell you, Mr. Queen?"_

_Oliver looked right into the darkened eyeholes of the mask. "He told me I'm gonna kill you."_

This right here was what everyone had been unconsciously waiting for… the new Oliver. Thus far, they had each seen small details that dictated how different he was, but no one had expected the coldness of Oliver’s threat. Both Malcolm and Slade leaned forward. They both wondered if this was simply just a threat. 

_The mask and his friends all shared a laugh. "You're delusional." He said finally. "You're zip-cuffed to that chair."_

_Oliver lifted his now-freed hands. "Not anymore." He said. Then, before they could react, he went into motion. He ducked a punch from his interrogator, and then flipped the chair up to block a second. He reversed the chair, sending the hard edge of the seat into the chest of the second man, then ripped out of back seat posts and spun around, staking the interrogator in the heart. For good measure, he brought the taser up and shocked him under his jaw, sending him to the floor. He grabbed the second man and swung him around in front of his as a shield, just as the third man fired. The bullets hit the second guy in the chest killing him._

“Oh Oliver,” Moira whispered, horror laced in her words.

“He wouldn’t…” Thea began before stopping and looking away. She couldn’t watch her brother murder people, even if they kidnapped him.

Tommy looked to the Queens and saw the shock on their faces, but when he looked to his father, he swore he saw pride. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt; they had been kidnapped and who knows what would have happened to them if not for Oliver… but was killing really necessary.

_Seeing that, the third bolted from the room. Oliver let the man drop and ran over to Tommy. Bending down he checked his pulse, making sure his friend was alive. Noting that he was, Oliver took off after the third man, just as Tommy started to come around._

_As Oliver started gaining ground, the man fired wildly behind him. Oliver was able to duck and doge out of the way of the fire. They made it into another warehouse and the man fired wildly once more spraying bullets everywhere, once more Oliver was able to stay ahead of the fire, jumping off a platform and grabbing on to some chains, as the man frantically tried to reload. Oliver didn't give him a chance, swinging around and launching himself at the man. A punch to the face bent the man backwards, and Oliver spun around, wrapping his arm around the man's neck from behind in a reverse choke._

_"You killed that man." Oliver said, holding the man in place._

_"You don't have to do this." He gasped out._

_"Yes, I do." Oliver replied, then with a jerk, broke the man's neck. "Nobody can know my secret."_

“It seem Oliver learned a lot on that island,” Malcolm stated leaning back. Everyone sat in a silent shock, save for Slade who was contemplating where else Oliver had gotten his training.

_The scene shifted to the sitting room at Queen Manor, where Oliver was being interviewed by Detective Lance and his partner, Detective Hilton. Moira and Walter were there as well, and on the coffee table before them lay the sketch of Oliver and Tommy's 'savior', a man in a hood._

_"So that's your story." Lance was saying. "A guy in a green hood flew in and single-handedly took out 3 armed kidnappers." He shrugged. "I mean, who is he? Why would he do that?"_

_Oliver shrugged in return. "I don't know. Find him and you can ask."_

_"Yeah." Lance said doubtfully. He looked over at Tommy. "What about you? You see the hood guy?"_

_"I saw…" Tommy hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering over to Oliver, who was looking back at him with an unreadable expression. "Just movement." He said finally. "Everything blurry. I was kind of out of it."_

Thea turned to Tommy. “You’re protecting him.”

With a shrug, Tommy responded, “I probably don’t know what I saw, so yeah. He’s my best friend. Why would I think he’d have the capabilities to kill someone?”

“There seems to be a lot we don’t know about Ollie,” Laurel said glancing to her father.

Quentin was beginning to piece together what was going to happen. Green hood, hero… why did he suspect he was going to have a vigilante on his hands soon enough? He scowled and leaned back in his chair. The last thing he wanted was to chase Queen all over the city, and he had heard rumors of other cities with vigilantes. There was no way he would let his city turn into something like Gotham.

_"Yeah." Lance replied, disbelieving. He looked back to Oliver. "It's funny, isn't it? One day back, and already somebody's gunning for you. Aren't you popular?"_

_Moira's eyes narrowed at Lance. "Were you able to identify the men?" she asked._

_"Scrubbed identities, untraceable weapons." Hilton said. "These were pros."_

_"Yeah." Lance added. "Well, they probably figured you'd pay a king's ransom to get your boy back- or a Queen's ransom, as it were." His gaze turned to Oliver. "After all, a parent would do anything to keep their child safe."_

_"I don't find your tone appropriate, Detective." Moira interjected. Walter slowly stood._

_"If Oliver can think of anything else, he'll be in touch." He said. "Thank you, gentlemen, for coming."_

_Lance gave a cold smile and rose, tucking the drawing back into his travel case. He stared at Oliver. "Your luck never seems to run out, does it?" he said, before he and his partner leave. Oliver walks over the window and takes a calming breath, before turning back and looking at Tommy, who stares back with an unreadable expression of his own._

_Next, we find ourselves in Oliver's room. He's studying news clipping son his computer about Adam Hunt. He looks at his father's book, and sure enough Adam Hunt is a name on The List._

Malcolm and Moira shared a concerned glance. While Oliver’s new skillset was intriguing, Malcolm wanted him as far from the Undertaking as possible. If the list kept Oliver distracted, that would be acceptable, but based on Malcolm’s prior experience with the family, it wouldn’t end there. He would have to deal with this immediately upon returning home. 

_"You are different."_

_Oliver looks up and smiles at Raisa as she enters his room with a tray of food. As she approaches, he turns the book over and clears his monitor. "Not like you to read a book."_

_"I missed you, Raisa." He said warmly._

_"No kitchen on the island?" she joked._

_"No." Oliver says. "No friends either."_

_He stood and walked towards her, taking the tray. "Hey. Thank you." He took the tray and sat it down on his bed, then looked back at the maid. "Do I really seem different?"_

_"No." she said. "You're still a good boy."_

_"Oh, I think we both know I wasn't."_

_"But a good heart." She added warmly. Oliver smiled._

_"I hope so." He said. "I want to be the person you always told me I could be."_

_The scene shifted, and Oliver now we see Oliver leaving the mansion._

_"Oliver," Moira's voice called out, stopping him in his tracks, he turned to see his Mother, Walter, and a tall, well-built black man. "I want to introduce you to someone," she was saying. "John Diggle. He'll be accompanying you from now on."_

_Oliver smiled. "I don't need a babysitter." He argued._

“He really doesn’t,” Tommy pointed out.

“Well, I don’t know that do I?” Moira responded. “All I know is that my son was kidnapped.” She hid her emotions perfectly as she was getting the profound feeling that she had set-up the kidnapping. 

_"Darling, Oliver's a grown man." Walter added. "And if he doesn't feel he needs armed protection…"_

_"Yes, I understand," Moira interjected, "but this is something I need." Oliver smiled at his mother, then looked once more at the bodyguard._

_Soon, Diggle was driving the Bentley downtown, with Oliver in the back._

_"So…what do I call you?" he asked. Diggle glanced in the rear-view mirror at his principal as he drove._

_"Diggle's good." He said. "Dig if you want."_

_"You're ex-military?"_

_"Yes, sir." He replied. "105th Airborne out of Kandahar, retired. Been in the private sector a little more than four years now." He glanced in the mirror again. "I don't want there to be any confusion, Mr. Queen. My ability to keep you from harm will outweigh your comfort. Do we have an agreement? Sir?" He heard the sound of the back door opening then closing in rapid succession. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Oliver was gone. "Sir!" he called out, slamming on the brakes. He got out of the car and hurried around to the back, throwing open the back door to see the car deserted. He looked around in vain- but Oliver was gone._

Even Malcolm snorted in amusement. 

_The scene shifted, and we see Oliver walking down in the heart of the Glades. He had picked up new clothes and gear, and now he made his way back to the abandoned Queen steel mill. He tossed his bags over the high fence, and then jumped the fence himself. Picking up the bags, he calmly walked into the mill. Long abandoned, the mill was an empty husk. Trash littered the floor, and Oliver stopped when something caught his eye. Bending down, he found an old Queen Consolidated annual report, his father's face on the cover. He picked it up and stared at it._

_'The abduction was unexpected.' His voice sounded. 'It forced me to move up my plans, but what I told the police was true. The man in the green hood was there in that warehouse, and he's just beginning.'_

Quentin groaned as his suspicions began to play out.

_What followed were a series of images as Oliver began building his lair- knocking down walls, breaking through the floor to the basement below, maneuvering a generator and other equipment he had had delivered via unconventional sources. Soon, he had several tables set up, lights over each of the tables flickered on when he powered up the generator. He set up his computer system at the forefront and started uploading and sorting files. While the computes worked, he worked two- first on creating new arrows with the machine tools, then on working out his body- doing several reps on the salmon ladder, inverted crunches, and other exercises._

_Finally, he pulled his munitions box out and set it on a table, opening it up. He pulled out his custom recurve bow, strapped his quiver to his back, and loaded up a bucket with tennis balls. Steadying himself, he knocked over the bucket and let the balls bounce out onto the floor. At once, he started drawing, nocking, and firing arrows, one after the other, until all of the tennis balls were pinned to the wall, each with an arrow dead center._  
  
Laurel couldn’t tear her eyes away as she watched her ex-boyfriend do all of this, and nearby, Tommy tried to hide the jealousy from her. He was glad to have Oliver back, but he was really interested in trying to pursue something with Laurel. That would be near impossible if she couldn’t tear her eyes from Oliver again.

Malcolm considered each shot Oliver took and took in the younger archer’s form. It was different from the League’s that was certain, but that didn’t make Oliver any less dangerous. If they were to ever cross bows, it would only be his years more of experience that would keep him a few steps ahead. Given the chance, Malcolm hoped he could help the young man hone his skill and perhaps have him help on the Undertaking. Another enforcer would help keep those left helping in the Undertaking in line. However given the reason they were brought here, Malcolm had a feeling he wouldn’t be allowed to do just that. 

_Later, Oliver is sitting at his new computer station watching a news report about Hunt. "The suit alleges that Hunt committed multiple acts of fraud and theft against the city's underprivileged. Laurel Lance, an attorney for the city necessary…" the news report tuned out as Oliver began speaking his thoughts once more._

_'Adam Hunt his crimes go deeper than fraud and theft, but he's been able to bully, bribe, or kill anyone who's gotten into his way.' Oliver moved from his weapons table to the crate and pulled out a familiar green hood. 'He hasn't met me yet.'_

_The scene shifted to a parking garage where Adam Hunt, Laurel's boss Eric Gitter, and two of Hunt's bodyguards were swiftly walking._

_"You remind Grell I put him on the bench, I can take him off." Hunt said viciously. "I will turn him into a cautionary tale."_

_"Yes, Mr. Hunt." Gitter replied._

_"And this attorney, Laurel Lance? You said she wasn't gonna be a problem anymore." Hunt continued. "I told you to fix that situation." He stopped and looked at Gitter. "Why are you still here?" Gitter nodded subserviently and left._

_The other three men continued the walk to his car, when suddenly a light exploded behind them. The first guard turned to look, his hand going for his gun in his waistband- until an arrow pierced his hand and gut, pinning it there. The guard fell with a cry, while the second guard pushed Hunt into the back of the limo. "Get in the car!" he commanded, and then turned around, drawing his weapon and firing several times into the darkened garage. He paused, searching for a target._

_"Hey." A voice called out, "You missed."_

_Hunt listened inside the car as his second man was taken down, and suddenly a window shattered. He looked up to see an arrow lodged in the seatback. He reached for it in puzzlement-_

_And then suddenly he was yanked through the shattered window and tossed to the ground. He scrambled onto his back, to see Oliver, in his green uniform, hood, and grease paint over his eyes. The brim of the hood was pulled low to distort his face._

_And he had an arrow nocked and aimed right at Hunt's chest._

_"Aah!" the man screamed. "What? What? Just… just tell me what you want!"_

_The Hood jumped off the room of the car and hauled Hunt to his feet. "You're gonna transfer $40 million into Starling city bank account 1141 by 10 P.M. tomorrow night." He demanded._

_"Or what?" Hunt shot back, a scowl on his face._

_"Or I'm gonna take it, and you won't like how." The Hood replied, then turned and walked away._

_Gaining courage at the Arrows retreating back, Hunt shouted, "If I see you again, you're dead!" In response, The Hood in one fluid motion turned and fired an arrow into the back window of the limo. Hunt looked at the hole in shock, then turned back to the Hood-_

_But he was already gone._

“Damn vigilantes,” Quentin growled. “We can do our job without his help.”

“Obviously you can’t,” Moira pointed out. “Otherwise Hunt wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

“You don’t think Ollie will kill…” Thea frowned, but she couldn’t force herself to finish. Above her, she could see this other archer watching them intently. The hood and mask hid her face and thus her emotions/opinion on the current matter. 

“I think Thea, your brother, will do whatever he thinks is necessary to fix what he sees wrong with the city,” Malcolm explained.

“What would you…” Quentin began again, but this time, Tommy interrupted him.

“Even you have to see how much corruption runs deep in our city.” The younger Meryln wasn’t an idiot; he had seen what was wrong with his city, but he had never considered that the way to fix it was to dress up as robin hood.

_The scene shifted to the next day, at Adam Hunt's penthouse apartment, where Hunt was giving his stated to Lance and Hilton._

_"He was wearing a hood, a green hood," he was saying, "And he had a bow and arrow." The two cops glance at one another, and Hunt misinterpreted their looks. "What, you don't believe me?" he picked up and arrow that was lying on his desk and handed it to Lance. "That maniac put two of my men in the hospital."_

_Lance took the arrow and looked it over. "Well, thanks for your statement. We'll put out an APB on," he looked back up at Hunt and said, slightly mockingly, "Robin Hood."_

_Hunt scowled and to into Lances face. "Hey, pal. I'm not some grocer who got taken for his register. I go to the front of the line." He stepped back and looked at both cops. "Now he said he would be back here by 10 P.M. Make sure you're here first. You can coordinate with Mr. Drakon, my new head of security." He gestured to a tall, thin man in black._

_"All right." Lance said finally. "Well, uh, thanks for your time." The two partners turned and left. As they walked to the elevator, Hilton said, "It looks like Queen was telling the truth."_  
  
“How do I not put two and two together?” Quentin asked incredulous. “He shows up at the same time Queen comes back.”

“You’re blinded by how much you don’t like him,” Laurel said simply.

_"Yeah." Lance said grudgingly, "Well, there's a first time for everything. This hooded guy comes looking for trouble," he finishes as the doors to the elevator start to close, "he'll find it."_

_The scene shifts back to Queen Manor, where Oliver is exiting. He opens the back door of the Bentley-_

_To see John Diggle sitting in the back already._

_"Put on your seat belt, sir." Dig says with a smile. "Wouldn't want you to miss your party." Oliver smiles in amusement in return as he gets in._

“He learned quick,” Tommy commented.

_We cut to the Iron Works Building, where Oliver's 'Welcome Home' party was already in full swing with music blaring and plenty of hot girls writhing on the dance floor. Oliver walked down the main staircase, pausing only for a moment to check his new iPhone to see if Hunt had deposited the money yet._

_He hadn't._

_Frowning momentarily, Oliver put the phone back into his jacket and once again slipped on his 'Oliver Queen- party boy' face just as Tommy saw him._

_"Everybody, hey!" he called out, signaling for the DJ to cut the music. "Man of the hour! Whoo! And, ladies, please give this man a proper homecoming!"_

_'We are the champions' started playing as Oliver made his way up to the main stage in the middle of the floor. "Thank you very much, everybody!" he called out as Tommy handed him a shot. He downed it fast and yelled, "I missed Tequila!" The crowd cheered as the music started up again._

_Across the street in Adam Hunt's penthouse, his security contingent was busy prepping clips and checking their automatic weapons, preparing for the coming fight. Hunt, drink in hand, frowned as he looked out his window._

_"What the hell's going on out there?" he demanded._

_"It's across the street." Constantine Drakon replied. "Party for the guy that got rescued off that island Oliver Queen." Hunt nodded sourly and moved back to his desk._

‘Smart move Oliver,’ Malcolm thought, and he waited to see where this would go. He, of course, had tried similar intimidation tactics after the League with little results. He doubted Oliver would get anything better, but then again, Malcolm hadn’t been so public about his nightly activities. Police never even knew about him.

_"Hey." Tommy said, coming up next to his friend, "Does he wipe for you, too?" Oliver chuckled as Tommy threw an arm around his shoulders._

_"Now by my rough estimate, you have not had sex in 1,839 days. As your wingman, I highly recommend Carmen Golden." He indicated three girls dancing on the stage._

_"Which one is she?" Oliver asked._

_"The one who looks like the chick from 'Twilight'."_

_"What's 'Twilight'?"_

_"You're so better off not knowing." Tommy responded, taking a sip of his drink._

_Oliver looked out at the crowd and spotted something he didn't like- Thea, with some of her friends, talking with a guy on the floor. He saw her pass him some cash and palm a packet of pills in return. Oliver frowned. "Back in a minute." He told Tommy as he headed over to his sister. Diggle noticed his movement and moved to follow._

_Thea smiled as he approached. "Ollie, hey!" she said as she grasped her arm, lightly pulling her away from her friends. "This party is sick!"_

“I’m grounded for life at this rate,” Thea muttered, hiding her face in her hands.

“Try two lifetimes young lady,” Moira said. “You’re not even twenty-one.”

“Oh whatever,” Thea growled. “Five years later and now you care?”

The room grew tense, but everyone kept their own opinions to themselves. Slade tried to stay in his seat no matter how much he wanted to strangle the Queen family. It was no wonder that the kid had been utterly useless on the island to start if this was how he was raised. 

_"Who let you in here?" Oliver demanded quietly._

_"I believe it was somebody who said, 'Right this way, Miss Queen'." She replied sarcastically._

_"Well, you shouldn't be here."_

_Thea narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled her arm free. "I'm not 12 anymore." She said._

_"No." Oliver agreed. "You're 17."_

_Thea scoffed. "Ollie, I love you, but you can't come back here and judge me, especially for being just like you." She noted pointedly._

_Oliver sighed. "I know that it couldn't have been easy for you when I was… away," he started, but Thea cut him off with a small, incredulous laugh. "Away?" she started, "No. You died. My brother and my father died. I went to your funerals."_

_"I know," Oliver started, but Thea cut him off._

_"No, you don't." For the first time Oliver caught a glimpse of the pain Thea had been hiding ever since his return. "Mom had Walter, and I had no one. You guys all act like its cool; let's forget about the last 5 years. Well, I can't. For me, it's kind of permanently in there! So I'm sorry if I turned out some major disappointment, but this… me is the best I could do with what I had to work with." She finished, Oliver closed his eyes, unable to meet her gaze. Thea turned back to her friends. "Let's bounce." She said, and the quartet of girls walked away._

“Thea,” both Tommy and Laurel said. The younger Queen looked up, sadness in her eyes. “We should have been there for you.”

“You had your own lives,” Thea responded.

“That didn’t make you any less a part of it,” Tommy admitted. After Oliver’s death, they really had just forgotten about the younger Queen as they had dealt with their own grief. Now seeing how Thea turned out, they realized how much they had been needed to fill her older brother’s shoes as some sort of model… 

_"You have the fun dip?" Margo asked. Thea, a little shaken, fumbles for her purse. "Yeah. It's right…" she felt around her purse, but couldn't find the packet of pills. "No." she said in confused embarrassment, "I…I must have dropped it."_

_Oliver stalked away. He paused at a trashcan to throw away the packet he had palmed from her purse; looking up he caught Diggle's' satisfied look at his actions._

_Oliver turned and started to walk away-_

_Only to run into Laurel._

_"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh. You're here."_

_"Tommy." Laurel finally said. "He made the point that we have too many years between us to leave things the way we left them." She looked at Oliver, and then glanced around. "Is there someplace quieter that we could go?"_  
  
“This isn’t going to end well,” Laurel murmured to herself knowingly.

_"Yeah."_

_They headed outside the main room onto the balcony that overlooked the entry hall. They walked together quietly for a few moments before Laurel spoke. "I'm sorry about saying that you should have been the one who died." She said as they walked. "That was wrong."_

_"If I could trade places with her, I would." Oliver replied sincerely._

_"About Sara." Laurel finally said, stopping and turning to face Oliver. "There's something that I've been afraid to ask, but I need to know."_

_"Ok." Oliver said warily._

_"When she died… did she suffer?"_

_Oliver thought back to that moment on the Gambit when Sara was sucked out the door and into the dark ocean beyond. "No." he lied._

_While Quentin was not thrilled still with what he was seeing, he was thankful that Oliver had lied to his oldest. He didn’t want Laurel to suffer anymore over Sara’s death, so to see Oliver trying to protect her, it was something he could respect._

_"I think about her every day." Laurel said after a breath._

_"Me, too." Oliver agreed._

_"I guess we still have one thing in common then." Laurel commented. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this," she started, "but if you need someone to talk to about what happened to you, I'm here." For a moment, the mask he wore slipped off, and the real Oliver Queen gazed back at Laurel, wanting to take her up on that offer, but knowing he couldn't. The moment was ruined by a buzzing from Oliver's pocket. He took out his phone and glanced at the face- 10 P.M. He checked the account app- nothing. Oliver shook his head._

_"Something wrong?" Laurel asked. Oliver looked back up at his former love._

_"I asked somebody to do something. They didn't do it." The mask slid back into place. "Laurel," he started, "You always saw the best in me. Right now, that's what you're doing, looking at me, and you're wondering if that island changed me somehow, if it made me a better person. It didn't." he smiled slightly. "Stay away from me. Otherwise I'm just gonna hurt you again, but this time, it will be worse." The playboy façade firmly in place, Oliver baked away from Laurel. "Got to roll." He said loudly. "I've got 5 years of debauchery to catch up on!"_

_Laurel looked at him in pity and disgust. "You know what, Oliver? You're wrong." She stalked up to him. "That island did change you. At least now you're honest." With that parting shot, Laurel walked away._

“Then I fell for that?” Laurel asked, hands up in shock.

“He’s doing exactly what you’d expect him to do Ms. Lance,” Malcolm explained. “Everyone wants him to be a billionaire playboy.”

“So that’s exactly what he’s going to be,” Tommy finished. 

“He’s pushing everyone away,” Thea continued. 

“Well, we just won’t let him do that now,” Laurel said determined. 

_Moments later, Oliver was walking though the service corridor when he was stopped by a now familiar voice. "Something I can help you with, sir?" John Diggle called out._

_"I just wanted a second to myself." Oliver tried. Dig smiled lightly._

_"I would believe you, Mr. Queen, if you weren't so full of crap." He gestured to the doors. "Party's this way."_

_Oliver sighed in annoyance. He moved to the door and tired the handle. "It's locked." He lied. Dig looked at him for a few moments, and then moved to open the door. As he moved past Oliver, the younger man's arm shot out and caught Diggle in a chokehold, rendering him unconscious in moments._

Slade wondered how Oliver was going to proceed. Last time he saw the kid, Oliver was still green behind the ears, but now seeing him on the screen, Slade realized that the Oliver he had last seen was not the one he would soon enough be facing. 

_Across the street, Drakon positioned his men, then locked the doors to the penthouses' office. On the street, Lance and Hilton supervised the police and S.W.A.T., barricading the building. "It's past 10:00." He told Hunt. "He's never getting in here." Hunt nodded in agreement; outside the window, unnoticed by him, and arrow with a cable struck the wall and anchored itself._

_Hunt and Drakon stood calmly in the office with several other men, when suddenly the lights went out. Then, in the hallway, the elevator dinged._

_As soon as the doors opened and arrow shot out, killing one guard. Another arrow dropped another guard, and then The Hood was out, using his bow like an escrima stick, beating down the two guards closest to the elevator. He tossed the bow at a third, knocking him down even as he moved towards a fourth, jumping out of the way towards a pillar as the guard fired, then propelling himself off the same pillar and coming down hard on the guard, breaking his neck. He rolled, retrieved and moved behind another pillar as the last guard opened fire._

_Inside the office, Hunt paced nervously as he heard the sounds of gunfire- and then suddenly all was silent. For a moment nothing happened, and then suddenly a figure burst through the glass doors. A guard in the room opened fire, spraying the figure with bullets, only stopping, too late, when he realized it was one of the guards from outside he had just killed. The Hood then killed him with an arrow to the heart, and then unleashed his furry on the last guard, breaking his nose and crushing his throat with the bow. He pulled an arrow and shot at Hunt; the arrow impacted the wall behind the desk._

_"You missed." Hunt sneered at the Emerald Archer, even as The Hood nocked another arrow and held it on Hunt._

_"Really?" he said._

“What is he planning?” Malcolm questioned.

“What was that?” Quentin asked unwilling to let anything slip by.

“We’ve seen Oliver shoot,” Malcolm explained willing to play ball for now. “He wouldn’t miss, so that leaves what was he actually doing when he shot?”

_Suddenly Drakon was on him, flinging his bow away and attacking him with furious punches and kicks. Oliver held his own as Hunt scurried out the room, rapidly he pulled out his phone and called own to Lance. "He's here!" he screamed into the phone. On the ground, Lance got on his walkie-talkie._

_"All units, converge! All units, converge! "He cried out to the men on the ground as they stormed the building. As they all ran up the stairs, The Hood and Drakon continued to fight. Oliver was more than a match for the senior guard, but Drakon was crafty. He pulled out his knife and lunged; Oliver parried and quickly disarmed him. They crashed to the ground, with Drakon falling just in range of one of his men's Uzi's. He grabbed the gun and Arrow ran for Hunt's desk. Drakon opened fire just as The Hood, in one fluid motion, leapt over the desk, pulled a flechette from his arm and threw it back at Drakon, striking and killing the man. The Hood landed hard, stunned into momentary unconsciousness. A moment later, the sounds of Police out in the hall startled the young man back to wakefulness. He gasped, and then staggered to his feet, pulling a round out of his bulletproof vest that had been concealed under his green jacket._

_"Lay down your weapons, or we will open fire!" the cops screamed, coming to the door. "I repeat, lay down your weapons…"_

_Without hesitation, The Hood leapt to his feet and shot an arrow that disarmed both cops simultaneously. But Lance was right behind them and opened fire, tracing a line of bullets just behind The Hood-_

_As he leapt through a window._  
  
“I’m going to place a sniper on that roof next time,” Quentin said to Laurel’s exasperation.

“You’re just mad that he escaped and hurt your pride,” Laurel said. She tried to make it sound as offhand as possible and not like she was defending her ex.

_Lance and Hilton ran to the window, only to see the hooded man using his bow to cross the zip-line he had set up earlier, back to the Iron Works. Hilton and Lance exchanged disbelieving glances._

_"Tell me you saw that." Hilton said. Lance took a breath._

_"Ok." He said, then to the rest of the cops, "Let's go. Move."_

_Minutes later, the cops stormed the party. A man in S.W.A.T. gear rushed up to the DJ booth and shut it down, just as Lance entered, giving orders to his men._

_"Search the building roof to basement. Find him!" He raised his voice to the crowd. "Starling City police! The party's over, kids." He looked around and saw a familiar face. "Oh, Mr. Merlyn." He said acidly, even as Tommy grinned at the cop in amusement. "Imagine my shock at finding you here. Did you roofie anyone special tonight, huh?"_

Malcolm glowered at the detective. “My son would never drug someone.”

“And I’m sure she,” Quentin said pointing to Moira, “would say her son would never shoot someone with a bow and arrow.”

“I’ve never,” Tommy said defending himself. “There’s a lot I do, but not that. No.” Tommy held up his hands and shook his head fiercely. 

_"Detective!" a voice called out. Lance turned to see Oliver walking towards him. "It's a private party."_

_"Yeah?" Lance shot back. "Well, there was an incident at Adam Hunt's building tonight. You know anything about that?" he asked._

_"Who's Adam Hunt?" Oliver asked, bored._

_"He's a millionaire bottom feeder, and I'm kind of surprised you aren't friends."_

_"I've been out of town for a… while." Oliver said mildly. Tommy let out a soft laugh._

_"Yeah." Lance agreed. "Well, he just got attacked by the guy with the hood, the guy that saved your ass the other day."_

_"The hood guy." Oliver said._

_"Yeah." Lance replied._

_"You didn't find him?" Oliver asked, then smiled. "I'm gonna offer a reward. Hey, everybody!" Oliver turned around and shouted to his fellow partiers. He held up two fingers. "$2 million to anybody that can find a nut bar in a green hood."_

_The crowd cheered in response, and Oliver turned back to Lance. The older cop walked right up to Oliver._

_"Did you even try to save her?" he demanded; any feelings of satisfaction Oliver had felt a moment ago vanished in an instant. Hilton saw what was happening and interceded, putting a calming hand on Lance and pushing him away lightly. "Ok, he said quietly, "Let's go, partner." Lance, though, wouldn't be deterred._

_"Did you even try to save my daughter?" he demanded._

“Is that really necessary detective?” Moira asked. “He already feels guilty enough about it.”

Quentin muttered something under his breath, but otherwise, he didn’t defend himself. He could see that he was being an ass. 

_"Sara wouldn't want this." Hilton said, leading Lance away. "Partner, let's go." Oliver's face was set in stone, as the cops left, but after a moment he made his way onto the stage. "It's way too quiet in here!" he yelled with a smile, throwing out his arms. "This is a party!" The crowd cheered as Oliver made his way off the stage. Tommy came up to him, giving him a strange look._

_"Some coincidence," he said, "I mean, you asking to have your party here, and Hunt getting robbed right next door… and by the same guy who rescued us at the warehouse." His tone inferred he was suspicious. Oliver gave him a tight smile._

_"If I were you, Tommy, I'd just be glad you're alive." He advised calmly._

Malcolm glared at the screen. First his son his kidnapped and now threatened. If Malcolm didn’t see such use for the Queen, he would be tempted to make sure Oliver never left that island. It wouldn’t be that hard to get a few assassins out there before any rescue boat and finish this before it even started.

“Wow,” was all Tommy could say. “What happened to him on that island?”

_Tommy stared back at his friend; for the first time since they had met, he truly felt like he didn't know the person standing in front of him. "What happened to you on that island?" he asked haltingly._

_"A lot." Oliver replied before walking away._

“Understatement of the year, much?” Thea summarized. 

_The next day, Adam Hunt was pacing his office, screaming into his phone at his accountant. "What the hell are you talking about? $40 million doesn't just up and vanish!" the accountant said something, and he scoffed. "Untraceable?! It is $40 million! Find it!" he ended the call and slammed the phone own onto the desk. He sank into his chair and put his head in his hands, defeated. "How did he do it?" he asked himself while ignoring the arrow embedded in his wall. He paid no attention to it, or to the electronic device that was attached to it; its indicator light blinking green._

_Meanwhile back at the foundry. Oliver watched as the $40 million transferred from Hunt International's account into a trust account he had set up. He then glanced over at a second screen, where another program was transferring that money back to the people which Hunt had stolen it from. He picked up the notebook, and calmly crossed Adam Hunt's name off The List. Oliver looked at the picture of his father on the shareholders report._

_The scene shifted back to the raft. It looks to have been several days. The crewman dozed across from Robert and Oliver, perched on the side of the raft with a knife held loosely in his hand. Robert glanced at the man, and then pulled Oliver in close._

_"There's not enough for all of us." He whispered to his son._

_"Save your strength." Oliver said, weakly._

_"You can survive this," Robert insisted. "Make it home, make it better. Right my wrongs. But you got to live through this first." Oliver appeared to doze off, so Robert shook him lightly. "You hear me, Ollie?" he demanded. "You hear me, son?"_

_"Just rest, dad." Oliver said tiredly, dozing off once more. Robert seemed to come to a decision._

_"No." he said quietly, kissing his son on the forehead. He gently moved Oliver away from him, propping him up against the edge of the raft. Then, eyeing the crewman, he reached into his jacket-_

_And pulled out a gun. The crewman only had a moment to look surprised before Robert pulled the trigger, shooting the man in the head and knocking him off the raft. That woke Oliver up suddenly, and he scrambled back from his dad in shock._

_"Dad?!"he exclaimed in stunned horror._

“He wouldn’t,” Malcolm started before seeing his old friend’s resolve… he would. __

_Robert looked sadly back at his son. "Survive." He said, and then he put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger._

“No,” Thea cried while Moira did her best to remain strong for her daughter. She pulled her youngest tight against her and tried to contain the tears threatening to spill past her eyes. When she had seen Oliver survive the yacht, she had wondered how Robert would eventually pass, but she hadn’t considered, even for a moment, that this was how her ex-husband had gone.

Malcolm nearby frowned and bowed his head in respect for his old friend. Robert had given his son a chance to survive, and for that, Malcolm whispered an old League saying about honor and death. It had hurt him to have to kill his best friend, but to know that he had forced Robert’s hand like this was shattering to some degree.

_"No!" Oliver screamed in horror. Then suddenly we were back in the Foundry as Oliver watched the money transfers end._

_The next day at CNRI, Laurel spent most of the afternoon and evening fielding calls from happy, if puzzled clients._

_"If, hypothetically, $50,000 magically appeared in your bank account, it might be best for you not to speak about it." She was saying into her phone as Joanna approached her desk. "To anyone. Ever." She smiled. "God bless you, too." She said as she hung up the phone._

_"I just got a very grateful phone call from one of our clients against Adam Hunt." Joanna said._

_"Me, too." Laurel replied, and the two laughed._

_"It looks like Starling City has a guardian angel." She remarked._

“Well I see where this is now going,” Laurel said. 

“Looks like my brother is going to be a thorn in your side for a while,” Thea grinned at Quentin.

_Joanna glanced back then said. "By the way, your cute friend's here."_

_Laurel's face fell as she figured she was talking about Oliver, but when Laurel turned around she saw Tommy standing there, smiling._

_"You left the party pretty quick last night," he was saying later as they walked down an ally towards his car. "Even after I made sure the bar was stocked with Pinot Noir."_

_"It wasn't really my scene." Laurel replied lightly._

_"I thought maybe you and Oliver went mano-a-mano again." He threw out, "I saw you two head out."_

_"There's nothing between Oliver and I," Laurel said with finality. "Not anymore."_

_"Here I thought the only thing between you and Oliver was us."_

_"I wouldn't exactly characterize us as an 'us', Tommy." Laurel said teasingly. Tommy stopped and turned to face her._

_"Then what would you call it?" he asked._

_"A lapse." She decided._

_"That's quite a few lapses" Tommy said with a grin. "Your place, my place, my place again…" they both laughed._

_"Oh, come on, Merlyn." Laurel said with a smile. "We both know that you're not a one-girl type of guy."_

_"Depends on the girl." He announced. Laurel smiled._

_"I have to go back to work." She said finally, turning to walk away._

_"Dinah Laurel Lance," Tommy called out, "Always trying to save the world." Laurel tuned around and smiled._

_"Hey." She said, "If I don't try and save it, who will?" she gave him a small wave, then turned and walked away. Tommy smiled and got in his car, and unnoticed by either of them, The Arrow sat perched on a fire escape high above, watching it all._

_'She says the island changed me.' Oliver's voice said. She has no idea how much.' Once more we are back on the raft. Oliver pulls himself up, looking over the edge of the raft into the distance- where Lian Yu lay waiting. 'There are many more names on the list, those who rule my city through intimidation and fear. Every last one of them will wish I had died on that island.'_

That was something everyone was coming to believe quite quickly.

_Back at Queen Manor, a darkly-dressed man was walking down the rear steps towards the garden where another figure was waiting for him._

_"The police failed to identify the men I hired to kidnap Oliver," he said, "and they never will. Should we arrange another abduction?"_

_"No." Moira Queen said. "There are other ways of finding out what my son knows." The memory faded to black._

“Mom?” Thea asked as she jumped to her feet. “What did you do?”

“Thea, you need to understand…” Moira began but Thea had already backed away.

“Understand what?” she replied. “That you had Ollie kidnapped… tortured?” Shaking her head, she put as much distance between herself and her mother. At the same time, she kept as much room as she could away from Slade. Whoever this man was, he was apparently dangerous enough for them to need an additional security measure.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” even Quentin asked.

“You don’t understand what’s truly going on,” Moira said and ended it there. She was certain all their secrets- her and Malcolm’s- would soon be on for the world to see, but until then, she’d rather hold onto them. She couldn’t have Malcolm finding out about her insurance policy after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: No older Oliver here, but he’s going to be a tad intermittent. Now should I have more interruptions, less, or is this just about right? I want you all’s opinion.  
> As for the viewing group, this will be the main group until season 2. Then I will be adding one other person (but not telling).  
> Updates will be weekly; this was just a bonus chapter so I could get an idea of how much I wanted to add into each episode. Thanks.


	3. Honor Thy Father

**Honor Thy Father**

Quietly, Moira and Malcolm stood and headed to a far off wall to discuss what exactly they had just seen. Obvious shock was still rippling through the group as they began to come to terms with not only was Oliver alive, but he'd be returning to the city as a vigilante.

"This is a set back," Malcolm calmly noted. When he had first realized that it was Oliver that this whole ordeal was about, he hadn't stopped to consider how much the young man now knew about the list or the Undertaking in general. "We cannot have your son interfering now Moira, not when we are so close."

Moira growled and poked him hard in the chest. "Do not even think for one second Malcolm that I will allow you to harm my son again." People glanced over in their general directions, but both Mrs. Queen and Mr. Merlyn kept their voices just above a whisper. The rage on Moira's face, however, could not be mistaken for anything else.

"I was not suggested harming Oliver," Malcolm lied; he was certain he could set up some sort of believable accident if absolutely necessary.

"And you will not recruit him either as another one of your enforcers," she continued, hiding her shudder at the use of the word enforcer. She had never met the man, but she had heard enough to know that that man's skill with a bow would most likely rival Oliver's. The last thing she wanted was for her son to be in his cross hairs; although, she was getting the distinct feeling that was exactly what would happen eventually. "He's my son and you will leave him out of this."

"Then we must make certain that he knows nothing of the Undertaking," Malcolm finished. His tone indicated that while he would yield to Moira and not harm her son, it was only with the guarantee that he remained as far from the Undertaking as possible.

Above them, the elder Thea listened intently and tried to keep her body relaxed as she heard the word Undertaking. Everything that had happened could be linked back to that dreaded earthquake, and while she knew Malcolm wouldn't simply give up his plan upon arrival, she had hoped that he would be a tad more open minded. Then again, that's what Roy had warned her against; they truly had no idea what they were doing here. For the moment, they probably figured they were here to learn how to help Oliver… not to figure out a way to stop everything bad that would come.

"Hey," Tommy called up shyly. The elder Thea glanced down and cocked her head at why she was being spoken to. She had already forgotten her other brother's voice, so it was jolting to suddenly remember he was here and alive. "Who are you?"

"You really want to talk to someone who's probably a few fries short of a happy meal?" the younger Thea whispered.

"She's here to protect us… from him," Laurel said pointing towards Slade. "She hasn't threatened us directly yet."

"So I figured perhaps we should get a name," Tommy explained while they each looked up. Slade casted the elder Thea an interested look that spoke of what he would do to her given the chance, but otherwise, he didn't seem too deterred by her earlier threat.

Voice still modulated, the elder Thea said, "Artemis."

"Artemis?" Laurel asked. "What kind of name is that?"

In her ear, the elder Thea heard Roy joke about what kind of name the Black Canary was. "Do you wish to continue?" she asked ignoring the comment about her name and addressing the entire group.

With the revelation of what happened in the last memory, people switched around so that Thea could sit as far from Moira as possible, and instead, joined Laurel and Tommy on another couch.

"If you'd let me explain," Moira would begin only to receive the cold shoulder and a glare from her youngest.

"Alright," Laurel said hoping to break the tension. "Let's continue on… shall we?" With that, the next memory played.

_The next memory set started with Oliver's voice. 'The day I went missing was the day I died.' Scenes of him finding the island are shown, and then we cut back to the Foundry, where Oliver is gearing up. 'Five years in hell forged me into a weapon, which I use to honor a vow I made to my father, who sacrificed his life for mine. In his final moments, he told me the truth: that our family's wealth had been built on the suffering of others. That he failed our city, and that it was up to me to save it and right his wrongs. But to do that without endangering the people closest to me, I have to be someone else. I have to be… something else.'_

Quentin sighed, "And there went my hope that he dressing up like robin hood would only last one single episode."

_The scene cuts to a rooftop, where Oliver engages in combat with six armed guards. In under a minute he has taken them all out, beating them down one at a time with sharp, effective punches and kicks, broken up with swipes from his bow. The brass knuckle hand guard on the bow does its job admirably, knocking out the last of the men guarding his target._

Tommy watched his best friend fight with a sense of dread. He worried about Oliver, of course, but seeing the once playboy so easily dispatch six guards also terrified him. He didn't know what happened on that island, but it changed Oliver's core. Tommy wasn't even sure if he liked this new Oliver yet or even could.

_"Whoa, whoa! Easy, wait, wait! No, please-" the man's pleas were cut off as The Hood grabbed the man by his collar and threw him off the helicopter platform, onto an air conditioning unit. The Hood jumped down to join him, smashing his boot into the grate covering the fane, then forced the man's face over the hole, mere inches away from the spinning fan blades._

_"Marcus Redman," he growled, voice modulator disguising his voice, "you have failed this city."_

_"Please, don't! Please! Don't!" Redman cried out in terror as The Hood leaned in closer._

_"Cell phone, inside pocket; call your partner." He growled. "Tell him to give those pensioners back their money. Do it now."_

_"Okay." The man said weakly, and The Hood jumped down and stalked away._

_Cut to the next morning in Queen Manor as Oliver walks into the sitting room, where Moira, Walter and Thea were watching a news report._

_'Over the past 15 years, Mr. Redman has withdrawn more than $30 million from the plan's account. Mr. Redman claims refunding the Halcyon pension plan has always been his intent. But sources say Redman was coerced by the vigilante.' On the screen, the familiar sketch of the Hood came up. Oliver gestured at the screen._  
  
"Interesting plan," Malcolm stated, pulling everyone from the memory for a moment. Seeing he had their attention and not willing to be intentionally cold yet, he explained the ingeniousness behind Oliver's plan. "By robbing from the rich so to speak instead of killing the high profile targets, he's ridding the city of the scum and avoiding gang wars over territory."

Quentin scowled as he realized Malcolm was right. "With Marcus and Hunt still alive, the next boss would come from within the organization instead of another rival vying for power in a vacuum."

"So my brother is doing good?" Thea confirmed to which Laurel nodded.

"If you ignore the body count," Tommy thoughtless added.

_"This guy gets more air-time than the Kardashians, right?" he said jovially._

_"The Kardashians? Really?" Thea said. "That's his go-to reference?_

_Thea shot him a look. "Five years on an island and you still know who they are." She said. Oliver smiled._

_"I've been catching up." He said. "It's nice to see how much our culture has improved while I was away."_

_"But the city used to be different." Moira interjected. "People used to feel safe."_

With a laugh, Thea said, "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Malcolm whole-heartedly agreed. Anyone foolish enough to attack the Queens would most likely discover Oliver's nightly hobby quickly and without hesitation. At least, that made Malcolm feel better; he never told Moira this but occasionally as the Dark Archer he would check their grounds. The last thing he wanted was to lose one of his most important partners to anything or anyone.

_"Aw, what's the matter, mom?" Thea said sarcastically, "Afraid we're gonna be next?"_

_"Do you have any questions about today, Oliver?" Walter asked. "It's a simple proof-of-life declaration. Just read out a brief, prepared statement to the judge, and then your death-in-absentia judgment will be voided."_

_Oliver gave him a tight smile. "It's fine, Walter. I've been in a courtroom before."_

_"Four times by my estimate." Tommy said as he walked in the room. "You know, there was the DUI, the assault on that paparazzi douchebag, stealing that taxi, which was just awesome, by the way, and who could forget peeing on the cop?" Oliver had the sense to look slightly embarrassed at his youthful transgressions._

"Oh the good times," Tommy laughed. He noticed both Laurel's and his father's disapproving look at the same time and thus his laugh was cut exceptionally short. Shrinking back into his seat, Tommy hoped to disappear. His father's look he was used to, but he didn't like how Laurel stared at him.

_Moira shot Tommy an annoyed look. "I wish everyone would." She said bluntly._

_"I'd hang, but we're headed to court." Oliver said with a tight smile. Tommy grinned back, oblivious to the tension._

_"I know, that's why I'm here." He said. "My best friend is getting legally resurrected; I wouldn't miss this for the world."_

_"Right." Oliver sighed. He looked at Thea. "What about you?" he asked._

_"Oh, I think the first four times of you in court was enough for me." She said tersely as she walked out of the room._

_"Fair enough." Oliver sighed._

_"Mrs. Queen?" Diggle announced as he came into the room. "Car's ready."_

_Moira nodded and, shooting Tommy a look and ignoring the arm he held out for her, took her husband's arm as well and walked out to the car. Tommy held out his arm jokingly to Oliver, who just smirked and walked out. Shrugging his shoulders, Tommy followed._

_The scene shifted to outside the courthouse, where Oliver was trying to make his way through a sea of reports. They pressed in close from all sides, screaming questions._

_"Are you going to testify as to what happened when the yacht sank?"_

_"Are you going to talk about the boat crash?"_

_"Mr. Queen, did you see Sarah Lance die?"_  
  
"Vultures," Malcolm growled.

"Perhaps a different entrance would have been better?" Quentin suggested. No one had really considered the 'after' of this viewing- how it would change their lives and to what degree. Nonetheless, Moira took Quentin's thought to heart and nodded her thanks. Even she could see how difficult this was for Oliver, whether or not he was hiding his pain so well.

_As the storm of questions continued, his mind brought up images of another storm, feeling the room tilt, seeing Sara pulled away from him by the ocean…_

_Inside the courtroom, Oliver was giving his statement. "There was a storm. The boat went down. I was the only survivor." His mind flashed back to the raft, screaming for Sara as his father stopped him from lunging back into the ocean to search for her._

_'She's not there!' Robert said, even as Oliver cried out. 'Sarah!' he screamed…_

_Back in court, Oliver continued. "My father didn't make it." He thought of the moment that Robert had put the gun to his temple and fired. Moira was crying softly, and even Tommy looked saddened as he finally started to grasp the suffering his friend had gone though. "I almost died, I… I thought that I had, because I spent so many days on that life raft before I saw land." He thought of his first sighting of Lian Yu, then of staggering to shore. "When I reached it, I knew I knew that I was gonna have to live for both of us. And in those five years, it was that one thought that kept me going." He finished shakily. Even giving that brief, prepared statement had been exceptionally hard on the man._

_"Your honor," his lawyer started, "We move to vacate the death-in-absentia filed after Oliver's disappearance at sea aboard the Queen's Gambit five years ago. Unfortunately we will not be requesting that the declaration of death filed for the petitioner's father, Robert Queen, be rescinded. The Queen family is only entitled to one miracle, I'm afraid."_

Seeing the memory of the yacht again put Thea's blood to a boil. She couldn't hold back any longer. Thea almost shot to her feet, and it was only Tommy's quick thinking that kept her in the seat. Still, the video paused, and everyone turned their gazes on the younger Queen including the elder Thea. "Oliver's back, and Dad's gone. How could you even think to put him in danger by kidnapping him?" she hissed turning on her mother. "My mother would never do something like that. We could have lost him again!"

"I'm sure I hired professionals. They wouldn't have harmed him," Moira defended, but next to her, she felt Malcolm stiffen. Her other self on the TV had probably not meant to have Tommy kidnapped as well, and that was the last thing Moira wanted. She didn't want a visit from Malcolm's enforcer ever… even with Oliver in the house.

"They tasered him!" Thea snapped. "How is that not hurting him?" Sinking back against Tommy and scooting closer to Laurel, she muttered, "You're no mother of mine."

"Thea," Moira said harshly, but she recognized that look in her daughter's eyes. It was the same look Oliver got prior to the island when he was ready to ignore her and do whatever he wanted nonetheless. She swore that stubbornness came from Robert, but that would be a lie twice over.

Leaning forward, Malcolm moved to defend Moira's actions since he understood she had probably done it to protect Oliver from him. "Your mother probably had her reasons."

"You can't defend her," Tommy gasped with a shake of his head. Now he was no longer holding back Thea, but when both went to stand to confront their parents, the elder Thea shot a single arrow into the middle of the room stopping all arguments.

The elder Thea stood on the rafter, bow in hand. "I get that you want to argue this out, and you're more than welcomed to. But I think the others said something about an open mind." She looked at each of them, but her gaze settled sadly on Moira. "Wait until you have all the facts." Sitting back down, the elder Thea muttered to herself and only to herself, "God knows how many fights I could have avoided if I had just done that the first time." With the mirakuru in his system though, Slade had heard the elder Thea clearly, and he placed that tidbit of information aside for later. He wanted more information before settling on any theories.

The video finally continued without serious interruption.

_A short time later, the Queens, with Tommy, headed out of the courtroom and down the stairs to the main floor._

_"Now, onto the offices." Moira said with forced levity. "Everyone is waiting to meet you there."_

Moira winced with the realization that she was going to practically shove the company down Oliver's throat. She had only seen a short bit of these memories, but she could already tell that there was no way Oliver was ready to take over the company. That was even ignoring how her son was apparently spending his nights too.

_"Uh, mom," Oliver said wearily, stopping on the stairs. Moira and Walter turned to face him. "That was a little bit heavier than I was expecting it to be. Can we do that tomorrow? Please?"_

_Moira looked at Walter, who nodded slightly. She smiled at her son. "Of course."_

_"Thank you." Oliver said, and Moira and Walter headed away. Oliver took a moment, then started walking down the stairs, Tommy at his side._

_"Last week, you couldn't wait to get to the company." His friend observed._

_"Tommy, I'd just spent five years away from civilization." Oliver explained. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I- Hi." Oliver said as he rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs- and ran straight in to Laurel, who was walking with Joanna and another woman into the courthouse._

_"What are you doing here?" she demanded._

"This might actually turn into a real fight," Thea snickered, and above her, she could hear the masked archer snort.

"I would put my money on Laurel but…" Tommy said trailing off.

"If Oliver so much as touches my daughter," Quentin threatened.

_Oliver looked confused for a moment, the realized what she meant. "Oh, they were bringing me back from the dead. Legally speaking." He smiled. "What are you doing here?"_

_"My job." She replied bluntly._

_"Right."_

_"More like the D.A.'s," Joanna put in helpfully. There was an awkward pause; Oliver then noticed the sad looking woman on Laurel's right and held out his hand._

_"Hi, Oliver Queen." He said politely, shaking her hand._

_"Emily Nocenti." She replied._

_"Oliver just got back from five years on an uncharted island. Before that, he was cheating on me with my sister." Laurel said acidly. "He was with her when she died. And last week, he told me to stay away from him. It was really good advice." She pushed past him. "Excuse me."_  
  
Laurel tried to hide her blush. That had been harsh of her, and while she could understand why she had acted like that, she knew that she hadn't handled that the best. "I can't believe I'm falling for this," she sighed.

"Oliver's smart," Malcolm said. "He knows what we expect, and that's exactly what he's giving us."

_The four stood around awkwardly for a moment, before Emily spoke up. "It was nice to meet you." She said as Joanna led her away._

_Tommy clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, buddy, shake it off. Let's go." The two headed outside. There on the steps the press was gathered, this time around another man. Martin Somers looked confident, smiling at the cameras as the reports clambered for a sound bite, and the two men watched with interest._

_"Mr. Somers! Mr. Somers!" The all screamed. Martin pointed at one of the reporters. "What do you have to say about the accusations made by Laurel Lance?" she called out._

_"I don't know what I've done to earn this witch-hunt from Miss Lance and her bosses at the CNRI." He started, still smiling. "But I can tell you this. I am an honest businessman, and I will fight this slander to my last dime and breath. That's all I have to say, thank you." Martin walked away, with some of the press still trailing after him._

Tommy couldn't help but ask, "Do you think that Oliver has this Somer's on his list of names?" He mimicked the charade of shooting an arrow. "To you know?"

"My question is where did Oliver get this list of names?" Quentin asked. "It's not like he's had a ton of time since he returned to just make it?" Always a detective, the officer couldn't help but voice his thoughts. He had noticed the way both Moira and Malcolm looked uncomfortable with the mention of this list of names, and he could tell that they knew more than what they were leading people to believe.

Slade grinned and watched the scene unfold. He remembered that notebook from the island, the one Oliver told him came from his father's body. That in mind, Slade figured that Oliver's Mom and the other gentlemen in the room were in on whatever this list was for. The mercenary wondered briefly thought what exactly 'this list' was for. Whenever he looked at Malcolm, he recognized another fighter, someone clearly trained and hiding it all behind a mask. While Slade wasn't certain of how much of a fight Mr. Merlyn was, he wasn't going to make the mistake of taking his eye off of the businessman anytime soon.

_Others, however, had spotted Oliver at the top of the stairs. Oliver walked down the stairs towards the car as the reporters shouted their questions._

_"Oh, there's Mr. Queen."_

_"Mr. Queen, do you want to follow up?"_

_"What happened in there, sir?"_

_"Tell us what happened inside, Mr. Queen!"_

_"Step back everybody, please." Diggle called out, ushering Oliver through the crowd._

_"Can you give us a couple comments about the island, Mr. Queen? Before you go, sir, please."_

_"Couple of comments about the island, sir."_

_"What happened in there?"_

_Diggle opened the rear door and Oliver, still silent, climbed inside. Diggle shut the door and tried to push the reporters back. "Everybody, step back." One photographer got too close, and Diggle grasped the man's jacket and shoved him back hard. "Hey man, I'll make you swallow that Nikon. Back!"_

_Suddenly there was the sound of squealing tires, and the Bentley pulled away at a fast clip as Diggle and Tommy looked on._

_Tommy looked back to the bodyguard. "This happens to you a lot, doesn't it?" he asked glibly._

"That never gets old," Tommy grinned, and that broke some of the tension in the room.

_Back in the courthouse, Laurel was giving her opening remarks._

_"How much is a life worth?" she asked. "A life of a man, a good man, a stevedore on the docks of the city in which we live. A father." She stopped and looked back at Emily. "A man with a daughter." She paused for effect before continuing. "The plaintiff will prove by a preponderance of evidence that Victor Nocenti learned that his boss, that man sitting right there," she pointed at the defendant, "Martin Somers, was taking bribes from the Chinese triads to smuggle drugs into our city. And when Victor Nocenti threatened to tell the police, Martin Somers had him killed. Mr. Somers is very well-connected, and has friends in the district attorney's office. Which is why, if Emily Nocenti is to get justice for her father's death, if Martin Somers is to get justice for his crimes, then someone is going to have to do it for them."_

"You're asking for trouble Ms. Lance," Slade said, reminding everyone that he was still, in fact, in the room. He watched as her eyes flickered fearfully over him. Grinning, he continued, "Even I know what follows the Chinese Triad. You best hope that you kept Oliver near you in this memory…"

"Is that a threat?" Quentin growled.

"Just an observation," Slade replied, but the smirk on his face all but confirmed that it practically had been.

_Back at the Foundry, Oliver was deep into his workout, preparing himself for the night's activities._

_'Martin Somers.' Oliver's voice intoned as he practiced with his escrima sticks. 'Laurel's targeted the worst of starling city, so it's no surprise his name is on my father's list. The city's police and the D.A. can't stop him- or won't. Laurel thinks she's the only one willing to bring him to justice. She's wrong.'_

_That night on the docks, Somers was railing at his lawyer in his office._

_"You, listen up." He growled. The calm, confident man who had spoken to the press earlier that day was gone. This was the true Martin Somers- jittery, scared. "The longer this goes on, the more likely the media is gonna crucify me. You shut this trial down, do you understand me?" Suddenly the lights flickered off, and the sounds of three arrows impacting their targets could be heard. When the lights came back up, his lawyer and his two bodyguards were down on the ground. "What the hell?" was all he said when suddenly he was grabbed from behind and his world went dark._

As an officer of the law, this was all disturbing to Quentin. He couldn't see past his rage for what Oliver had done to Sara, and now, he only saw the playboy flirting in a different way with the law. "I'm going to catch him."

"That's my brother," Thea defended.

"Who is a murderer, vigilante, and is breaking the law as if it doesn't apply to him," Quentin responded with ease.

"You do know Detective that vigilantism is no longer illegal in this time..? If you couldn't tell from the fact everyone up here wears a mask," the elder Thea said from her position. That quieted him right down.

_When he came to, the world seemed to be upside down. As the world came into focus and he saw The Hood standing across from him, though, he realized that it was himself who was upside down, hanging from a crane and swinging like a pendulum._

_"Martin Somers! You've failed this city." The Hood intoned, drawing an arrow from his quiver and firing it as the man swung. It just passed by the right side of his head._

_Slade couldn't hide his smirk at the kid's tactics. "About time," he said, drawing attention from a few others, but he wasn't obligated to explain anything. This Slade could respect. On that island, Oliver had spent far too much time hiding behind others or being sympathetic to others. It was relieving to see the kid finally did learn something, but that didn't change what Slade had planned._

_"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Somers screamed out. The Hood ignored him._

_"You're gonna testify in that trial. You're gonna confess to having Victor Nocenti killed. There won't be a second warning." He warned, drawing another arrow and firing it. The one left a deep cut on his left cheek. Somers cried out in pain, pressing his hand to the cut. When he looked back at where The Hood had been, though, the vigilante was gone._

Malcolm considered Oliver's current skillset. This wasn't something someone could just pick up on any island. The young man had been trained, and it had left an obvious mark on the younger archer. If they came to blows, Malcolm made sure to note that while Oliver was proficient in a bow and hand to hand, there were probably areas of fighting he was not.

_Later that night, back at the Queen manor, another interrogation was going on._

_"I hired you to protect my son." Moira was saying as she paced in front of John Diggle. "Now, I'm not a professional bodyguard, but it seems to me that the first requirement would be managing to stay next to the man you're hired to protect." She pointed out._  
  
"He lost him again?" Tommy asked.

"Did he even actually find Ollie after the courthouse?" Laurel countered. She was smiling as she said this, and Tommy tried not to scowl at Laurel's growing attraction to this new Oliver. She was all too apparently interested in the man Oliver had become, and Tommy wasn't sure how he could stack up against someone who practically screamed 'dangerous'.

_"With all due respect, ma'am," Diggle tried, "I never had a client who didn't want my protection."_

_"I hired you." Moira pointed out, coming to stop in front of the bodyguard. "That makes me the client." She looked at the man sternly for a moment before resuming her pacing. "Now, where do you think my son is going on these chaperone-less excursions?"_

_"Ma'am, I truly do not know." Dig answered honestly._

_"And he truly doesn't." a jovial voice called out as Oliver walked into the room. His mother cast him a baleful look._

_"Then perhaps you'd like to share with me, you know, where it is you run off to." His mother said, exasperated._

_"I've been alone for five years." Oliver pointed out._

_"I know that, Oliver."_

_"Mom," he interrupted, shoot her a look. "Alone." He emphasized._

Laurel shook her head; this was one side of Oliver she never liked and never would. "Another thing we lap right up." She saw her own naivety and blindness, and it was hard to fathom that she could be that thick.

_Moira put it together after a beat. "I see." She said._

_"I promise to introduce her if it ever gets to the exchanging first names stage…" he started._

_"No, I'd rather you promise to take Mr. Diggle with you on your next rendezvous." Moira interrupted, walking up to her son. "It's not safe; you've already been abducted once. There is a maniac out there, hunting the wealthy."_

_"That maniac saved my life." Oliver pointed out._

"And killed all the kidnappers," Quentin added much to everyone's exasperation. The cop was nothing short of obvious with his dislike of Oliver and the archer's new night time activity.

_"This isn't a game." Moira said. She paused and looked into his eyes. "I lost you once. And I am not going through that again." She stated plaintively. Oliver looked back with genuine remorse._

_"Okay." He said finally. "Dig's my guy."_

_"Thank you." Moira said, and then walked out of the room. Oliver looked up at his body man._

_"Sorry to give you so much grief." He said. He almost meant it._

_Dig buttoned up his suite jacket and walked around the couch. "I served three tours in Afghanistan, Mr. Queen. You don't even come close to my definition of grief." He paused in front of Oliver. "But I tell you what- you ditch me one more time, no one will have to fire me." With that he left the room, just as Thea walked past. The girl gave the bodyguard a cursory look before continuing on her way._

_"Where you going?" Oliver called out. Thea paused, surprised. She hadn't seen him there._

_"Uh somewhere loud and smoky." She replied, crossing her arms. "And don't bother trying to pickpocket my stash this time, because I'm gonna go get drunk instead."_

Thea groaned. Each time she thought that she had found a way to dig herself out of the hole she had dug herself into, her other self had to go and do something like that. 'Why do I have to be such a brat?' she wondered to herself.

"Have you thought about grounding her Moira?" Malcolm asked. Even he was tired of seeing the younger Queen follow in his son's footsteps…which was to nowhere at this rate. So much potential and money wasted, and the elder Merlyn despised something being wasted.

"If I thought I could actually ground her and get her to stay," Moira sighed.

"And if you think I'll listen to you any better now after what I've seen," Thea growled referring back to the fact her own mother had Oliver kidnapped and tortured.

_Oliver walked towards his sister, concern on his face. "Thea, do you think this is what dad would want for you?" he asked, trying to get through._

_"Dead people don't want anything. It's one of the benefits of being dead." No dice._

_"I was dead.' He pointed out. "And I wanted a lot."_

_"Except for your family." Thea shot back coldly. "You've been home a week and all you do is avoid mom, ignore Walter, and judge me." She cast one last look at him before turning around. "Don't wait up." She said as she walked out of the room._

Smiling sadly, Thea turned more towards the others on the couch with her. Nearby, Slade watched as Oliver effectively burned every bridge he had to family; at this rate, the ex-ASIS wouldn't have much family left to threaten with how effectively Oliver pushed them away.

_The nest day at the docks, Detective Lance was speaking with Martin Somers about what had happened the night before- or, as Somers put it, didn't happen._

_"Well, I owe you an apology, Mr. Somers." Lance was saying, pacing lightly in front of Somers desk. He noted a hole in the top of the desk and fingered it idly as Somers sat, watching him. "We come all the way down to your docks, and it turns out, you don't need the police after all."_

_"Which is exactly what I've been saying." Somers said. The calm facade was back in place._

_"Yeah." Lance agreed. "So I guess that 9-1-1 call we got last night from your stevedore, saying that you were getting attacked by a guy in a green hood and a bow and arrow… I guess well, was that a practical joke?" he threw out._

_Somers smiled tightly. "These guys like to fool around."_

_"Yeah." Lance said again, walking away from the desk and over towards one of the patrol officers who held an evidence bag. "Well, you know, I'd be very much inclined to believe an honest, upstanding businessman like yourself, except, well, one of my men found this at your docks." He pulled out a green arrow and turned around, showing it to Somers. Somers held his gaze impassively. "You see, there's this vigilante running around." Lance continued, coming back to the desk. He perched on the edge, waving the arrow around slightly. "He thinks he's some kind of Robin Hood. He's robbing the rich, he's trying to teach them a lesson I guess. I don't know," he said, then looked back at the other officers. "I don't know." He repeated, and then looked back at Somers. "But the point is, the man's a killer. And nothing, and no one, is going to stop me from bringing him down." He gently put the arrow in the hole in the desk; it fit perfectly, to no one's surprise. Lance looked up at Somers with a tight smile. "But like you said, clearly, nothing happened here last night." He finished sarcastically._

_Somers looked back at the cop. "Isn't this a conflict of interest, Detective?" he asked. "After all, your daughter is suing me."_

_"I'm pretty good at keeping my emotions in check." Lance said evenly._

Laurel eyed her with nothing short of amusement. "Yeah real good dad."

"Does that usually work on criminals?" Tommy asked.

"Better than putting an arrow into them," the Detective scornfully replied.

Unable to prevent himself from adding his own thoughts to the conversation, Malcolm added, "That, Detective, remains to be seen." Next to him Moira relaxed, and he could tell she appreciated that he had defended her son. There was still mistrust which he understood. She knew he wouldn't let anyone come in the way of his Undertaking.

_"I'm not." Somers said, rage simmering just beneath the surface. He stood and got into Lance's face. "You and your daughter don't want to find out what I'm capable of when I get emotional." He threatened. Lance gave him a disgusted look. Finally, though, he turned and left._

_The scene changed as we flew over Starling City, right to the Queen Consolidated towers. There were three towers in total- the main tower, which held mostly executive offices, stood proudly in the front. Directly behind were two, slightly shorter towers, connected by a sky bridge, that held research labs, stock trading areas, and other departments that made up the Queen Consolidated business._

_"As you can see, Oliver, we've modernized quite a bit." Walter was saying as the elevator opened on the executive level of the main tower. While the elevator banks were set into a rich, green marble, the rest of the floor was all glass and steel. Oliver whistled as Walter led him, Moira and Diggle towards his office._

_Oliver smiled at a cute blonde as he walked past. "Hi." He said. His mother squeezed his arm gently and smiled at her son_

_"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked. Oliver smiled in return._

_"Yes, I am."_

Both Thea and Laurel shared a grin. This Oliver on the screen currently was a glimpse into the one prior to the island, and for once, it wasn't an act. Tommy watched as his friend checked out one of the girls on screen, but when he glanced towards Laurel, he only saw one emotion- raw desire. Even when back to his playboy ways, Laurel couldn't take her eyes off him… Tommy wondered briefly if he needed to go find a mask, but as soon as the though passed, it sizzled away.

_"I remember when your father used to bring you here when you were a boy." Walter said jovially as they all walked into his office. Diggle took up position by the door. "You always were so excited."_

_"Dad let me drink soda in the office." Oliver revealed._

_"Ah!" Moira exclaimed happily. "So that's why you enjoyed coming."_

_"Queen Consolidated's success of late is a result of its targeted diversification." Walter began as Oliver walked around the office. "We have been making impressive inroads in cutting-edge fields like bio-tech and clean energy."_

_"That's neat." Oliver interrupted, the called out to Walter's secretary, "Excuse me? Can I get a sparkling water, or something cold, please?"_

_"Sweetheart," Moira said, gesturing at her son. "Oliver, Walter and I have something to discuss with you. Come, please sit." She motioned towards a chair. Oliver looked at her warily._

_"Mom, it makes me nervous when you ask me to sit down."_

The mercenary understood that wariness. Sitting made it difficult to defend one's self against attacks; it was better to stand and have the three-hundred and sixty degrees. While everyone else would see Oliver uncertain due to the fact he was in the company, Slade saw just another bout of action due to the island. Some habits were hard to break- mistrust being the hardest.

_The three stood awkwardly for a moment, before Walter pressed on._

_"The company's about to break ground on a new site for the applied sciences division, and we would like to honor your father by dedicating the building in his name." he said. Oliver nodded._

_"That's nice." He agreed._

_"And we'd like to make an announcement at the dedication," Moira added, "that you will be taking a leadership position in the company."_

"Five years on an island, Moira, do you really believe that Oliver would want anything to do with the company?" Malcolm asked much to her annoyance.

"Plus his whole new hobby," Tommy added.

Moira straightened up in her seat and addressed both Merlyns with the etiquette expected of the Queen matron. "I'm sure I simply wanted my son involved in what his father helped build."

Malcolm shook his head and tried to imagine getting Tommy into the company. To do that, he'd have to practically make his son desperate for a job… which reminded him of what he had thought about doing before arriving here. Tommy without his trust fund would perhaps force the young man to become an actual functioning adult. "He's going to rebel, Moira," Malcolm stated since that would be exactly what Tommy would do under the circumstances.

"Good," Thea muttered. At least if Oliver was getting into trouble it might take the heat off her a bit.

_"No." Oliver said at once._

_"Your company." She emphasized._

_"No, I don't want to lead anything." He shot back firmly, then looked at Walter. "Besides, Walter is doing a very good job here." It was the first…nice….thing Oliver had said to or about Walter since he got back, and the elder businessman was momentarily stunned._

_"You said that you wanted to be a different person." Moira pressed on. "And you are Robert Queen's son."_

_"I don't need to be reminded of that." He replied coldly._

_"Well, obviously you do."_

Even Quentin flinched at that. He hadn't spent long watching the memories, but even he could see, ignoring Oliver's new fixation, that the young man was having trouble acclimating to normal civilization again. It was obvious in the way the Queen scion held himself around people- almost as though he was expecting a stab in the back.

Slade enjoyed the pain written across everyone's faces as they watched, with absolute hindsight, how much they had taken the gift of having their friend or son back and trampled on it. "You know," Slade said, wanting to twist the knife a bit more, "he alone buried his father on that island."

The crestfall look on Mrs. Queen's face delighted the mercenary. It would only be better if Oliver was here to witness this torment.

"Behave," the elder Thea growled towards Slade. She'd let him have his outbursts, but if it went any farther than that, she'd intervene in a heartbeat. She might be semi-retired from this life by now, but she was certain she still had enough life in her to give Slade a nasty surprise.

_Walter walked up next to Moira and put a reassuring hand on her back. "Everyone here understands that this transition is really difficult for you." He tried._

_"Thank you, Walter." Oliver aid, the civility he had tried to build crumbling. "Which part, though? Everyone fantasizing that I got my MBA while I was on the island? Or the fact that my father's CFO now sleeps down the hall from me?" he finished angrily._

_His mother looked crestfallen, and turned away from him. Oliver, for his part, looked ashamed at his outburst. Moira walked towards the door, then stopped and turned._

_"You know, five years ago, your irresponsibility was somewhat charming." She said. "It is a lot less so now." She then turned around and walked out of the room. Walter followed after a moment. Dig looked on, no judgment whatsoever on his face. As a soldier, he knew what it was like to come home to a world you didn't recognize._

_The two made their way outside and fought through a sea of reporters to the Bentley. Dig got Oliver in, then walked around and got in on the other side._

_"The driver will be here in a minute." He said as they settled into their seats, the reports still shouting questions outside the car._

_"Okay." Oliver replied tersely. They were silent for a few moments before Dig spoke._

_"You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan." He started. "You want to know what I learned"_

_"There's no place like home?" Oliver replied dryly. Dig smiled and shook his head._

_"No, just the opposite. Home is a battlefield." He explained. "Back home, they're all trying to get you. Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore." He paused and looked at the young man. "Or I could be wrong. Maybe after five years alone, you're not as messed up in the head as you have every right to be." He observed._

"How astute of Mr. Diggle," Moira commented hoping to get past what this Mr. Wilson had said about her late husband.

"I like him," Tommy said.

"You wouldn't if he was your bodyguard," Laurel argued with a grin.

_The scene shifted, and we were back on the Island. Oliver had made a makeshift shelter on the beach and was sleeping, but the loud cries of sea gulls woke him. He looked up to see the birds gathered around the raft, and his father's body. "Hey!" he called out, staggering to his feet and running towards the raft. "Hey, get away! Hey!" he shooed the birds away and collapsed onto the side of the raft. His father's body laid there, a life jacket covering the face- and the bullet wound._

_The smell of decomposition got to Oliver and he staggered back, vomiting onto the rocky beach. Once done, he slowly moved back towards the raft and knelt beside it once more. "Dad." He said softly. Then, determined, he pulled the body up over his shoulder and stood, then started walking inland to bury his father._

Slade tried not to smirk knowingly as Moira hide her tears behind her steely resolve; Thea, on the other hand, curled against Tommy and didn't hold back the tears that flooded down her face. That was her father and brother, and to see one dead and the other as he was prior to the island was heartbreaking to Thea.

_Back in the present, Laurel and Joanna were briefing Emily Nocenti on what to expect with the coming trial._

_"Well, we anticipate that Somers' attorney will try and paint you as blinded by grief or looking to make a buck." Joanna was saying. Emily looked back at the two lawyers in angry disbelief._

_"This isn't about the money." She argued. "I just want justice for my father."_

_"Emily," Laurel started gently, "there are a lot of people who don't want this trial to proceed. Dangerous people." She explained. Emily just shook her head._

_"My mother died when I was a baby, and my father has been the only family I've ever known and they slit his throat. They are going to have to kill me if they want me to give this up." She said determinedly. Laurel gave her a small smile._

_"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that." She said._

_"And it won't." the three turned to see Quentin Lance walk in with three patrol officers behind him._

"You wouldn't," Laurel said, aghasted.

"Oh I would young lady," Quentin replied knowing exactly where this was going. He wouldn't risk his daughter's safety for anything.

" _What's going on?" Laurel asked._

_"What's going on is that the three of you are getting around-the-clock police protection. Okay? Get used to their faces, because they're going with you everywhere you go, no arguments." The last part was directed at his daughter, who looked back at him unimpressed._

Laurel, in the present, still looked unimpressed. "Like hell, I'm going to let you place me under police protection."

"Then don't go after people like Somers!" Quentin growled unwilling to lose his last daughter. "He has the triad in his back pocket."

"He does," Malcolm confirmed. "They won't think twice about killing a lawyer that is in their way."

Quentin did not look thrilled to have Malcolm in his corner, but he didn't argue with the business man's addition. "You'll be lucky when we get back if I don't find a way to lock you in your apartment for the rest of your life."

"Fine," Laurel smiled. "Tommy can stay with me."

Both Tommy and Quentin's face shone with shock before Tommy's broke with a grin. Before the young Merlyn could say anything though, Quentin threatened, "I have a gun."

" _I'm a lawyer. I live to argue." She stated._

_"I'm your father. I live to keep you safe." He replied bluntly._

_Joanna, sensing the building argument between father and daughter, gently took Emily's arm. "Um, Emily, let's go grab a cup of coffee, okay?" she asked rhetorically._

_"Yes, why not do that? Thank you." Quentin said, and then gestured to the three cops. "Please, go with them." he said to the first two, who followed the two ladies out of the office. He held back the third._

_"Stay there." He ordered._

_"Protective custody?" Laurel began, crossing her arms. "I seem to recall you trying that once I discovered boys. It didn't work then, either."_

_"This isn't a joke, Laurel." Quentin said, ignoring his daughters' argument. "Martin Somers got attacked last night."_

_Laurel's dropped as she looked at her father, stunned. "What? By who?"_

_"It doesn't matter." He said, somewhat relieved to see the seriousness of the situation was finally getting through to her. "Point is, you have whipped up a storm with these guys, and until the dust settles you'll be protected, okay? End of discussion." Quentin turned to leave._

_"That might have worked when I was eight," Laurel argued, some of her defiance finding its' way back, Quentin turned back to his daughter. "But it's not gonna work anymore."_

_"End of discussion, Laurel!" he insisted sternly. "You're insistent on doing your job, that's great. But this is me doing mine, okay? And not just as a father, but as a cop. These people, they are more dangerous than you are willing to admit. And you've made them angry." He finished, turning and walking out._

Quentin frowned and looked towards his daughter, who looked more than willing to deck him. "I just can't lose you… not like Sara." This lightened Laurel's face, and she nodded in understanding. Sara's death still wreaked havoc on their family, and it stung to know that Oliver had made it out alive but she hadn't.

In the masked Thea's ear, Roy started whispering, "Oh crap" over and over again. Touching her ear, Thea tried to figure out what her husband was freaking out about. "Speaking of Laurel," he said into her ear piece a bit more loudly, and Thea didn't need to hear anymore.

Jumping down from the rafters, Artemis gained a good deal of attention. Slade and Malcolm both tightened ready to defend themselves if necessary while everyone else just looked a combination of fear and confusion. Pulling her bow out, Artemis stalked towards the door; she didn't have all of this set up for Laurel to decide to appear and ruin it with a few words. The last thing the elder Thea wanted was for Quentin to realize his younger daughter had survived only to die again later. She would tell him eventually, but the group needed to acclimate first to this new experience. It wouldn't do well to overload them at once any more than they already had.

"Don't start anything," the elder Thea warned to the group before she turned back to the door just in time for it to slide open.

"I tried to stop her," Roy explained in her ear.

Laurel, dressed as the Black Canary, moved to step into the room, but Thea was already pushing her out and getting the door closed as quickly as possible. Laurel was rarely active nowadays, and she only wore the costume at the Watchtower for the sake of identity, so it took a moment for Thea to acclimate to seeing the elder Lance sister in it again.

In the room, Laurel cocked her head and tried to figure out what they just saw besides another costumed hero. "So do we continue or do we…" The video didn't move, so apparently they were waiting.

Outside, Thea pulled back her hood revealing her own aged face. A few grey hairs streaked through her hair, otherwise she looked good and in fighting condition still. Only a couple of wrinkles streaked across her face, but the dark circles under her eyes told a fortitude more.

"What are you doing here Laurel?" Thea asked, checking again that the door had closed.

"I should be asking you that," the Canary replied crossing her arms in front of herself. "Or maybe them."

"They aren't ready for this," Thea said indicating to the older Laurel. "They barely have accepted what they're seeing."

Laurel barked out a laugh. "That's ironic coming from you." Turning serious, the Canary reached out slowly and touched Thea's arm. "This isn't going to help."

"How'd you find out?" Thea muttered stepping out of her grasp.

"Your husband still isn't very subtle," she explained. Glancing towards the door, she sighed deeply. "And what happens when he finds out?"

"He won't," Thea said knowing that the 'he' in question was Oliver.

Shaking her head, Laurel pulled off her mask and smiled sadly at Thea. "A month, Thea. We almost lost you, and you were in the hospital for a month."

Thea hadn't forgotten. The pain had been astronomical during that time- internal bleeding, broken bones, lacerations… if it hadn't been for the Watchtower doctors, she would have lost her right leg. It was cold for Laurel to bring it up so soon after what had happened.

"I'm not giving up on him," Thea stated stubbornly. "This, all of this," she said waving her hands around. "We can change it."

"Thea, he almost killed you. He would have if Malcolm hadn't intervened… and look what happened to him." Even all these years later, Malcolm's name on Laurel's lips still brought a sneer to her face. She hated him right to his grave, but she could be thankful he had saved Thea. Laurel had been one of the unlucky few to see the fight, and they had lost three people that day from the League not including Malcolm…

"We don't know he's dead," Thea said, and that was true. He hadn't died on the scene, and the Justice League had left before any of them could check.

"For his sake, I hope he is." This wasn't said in rage but in pity. Even Laurel hoped Malcolm hadn't survived through the night. At his age though, she truly doubted it though; then again, she remembered his stubbornness non-too-fondly. "Thea, have you stopped to consider that this is what he wants now?"

"He did this for me," Thea replied, wiping her eyes. "The least I can do is return the favor."

"Some people…" Laurel started before sighing. "Some people just don't want to be saved."

Laurel and Thea had been polite to each other over the years, but with everything that had happened between them, their ties had been strained to a breaking point. It had only gotten better when Thea had awoken from her coma to find Laurel sitting near her, Roy snoring nearby in another seat. That was the day she was tempted to hang it up permanently and never look back… but when Thea had seen Laurel and realized where they had ended up, she had begun to hatch this plan. With resolution, Thea replied, "That doesn't mean I shouldn't try." She pulled her hood back up and entered the room, knowing Laurel would now let her. The Canary just needed to vent, and Thea could see that Laurel had a smidge of hope that perhaps this insane plan would work.

Stepping into the room, Thea turned her voice modulator back on, but before she could speak, the younger Laurel was blurting out, "What or who was that?"

The irony was not lost on the elder Thea, but she simply asked, "Shall we continue?" Roy from the upper room heard his cue and started the memory back up. As much as everyone wanted to question the unknown archer, they also wanted to see the end of this memory. The elder Thea could see that they weren't going to let this go, and she began to plan out how she would explain it without revealing too much.

_Later that evening on the docks, a stunning Asian woman in a red dress and stark white hair walked into Somer's office._

_"Thank you for coming." He said. The woman walked up to the desk and gave a cold smile._

_"Anything for a friend." China White said amicably._

"Oliver will have his hands full," Malcolm noted, his gaze trailing over the unknown archer a few moments longer before he had his attention back to the television.

"Chinese triad assassin, of course it would be," Quentin groaned rubbing his face with his hands.

" _We're not friends." Somers countered. "You smuggle drugs, I let you use my port."_

_"For which you're paid a lot of money." She responded._

_"I don't get paid enough to have arrows shot at me." He shot back. "You need to take this guy seriously. He is a bigger threat to your operation than Nocenti ever was."_

_"Except now it's Nocenti's daughter who's the problem." China White stated. "Unlike your friend with the hood, we know where to find her."_

_"Don't be an idiot." Somers snarled at the woman. "You take out Emily Nocenti, and Laurel Lance will never let this go. She won't stop until she burns you, me, and then the entire Triad to the ground."_

_China White smiled coldly. "Then we kill Miss Lance."_

"Oh," Laurel gasped in shock. It had been one thing to be told over and over again that she was playing with fire and another to actually see it.

Above them, in the control room, the elder Laurel joined Roy. "Do you think this will work?" she asked taking a seat next to him.

Roy shrugged and made a noise that sounded similar to 'eh'. Turning serious for a moment, he did add, "At this point Laurel, I do think we've run out of options."

"This could make things worse," she pointed out, years of experience finally taking hold.

"It could," Roy shrugged, but he didn't continue beyond that.

_The next morning, Oliver was getting dressed in his room as he watched the news._

_'Attorney for shipping magnate, Martin Somers, has confirmed his client has no intention of testifying, maintaining his innocence in the wrongful death of Victor Nocenti. Nocenti's body was found four weeks ago. We'll keep you updated as more information becomes available.' He glowered at the screen; obviously Somers hadn't quite got his message. He started to put his shirt on when a voice from his open door startled him._

_Thea had come to talk to her brother, not bothering to knock as the door had been open. Before she could speak, she saw the scars the marred his back. "Wait, how did you get those?" she asked, coming into the room._

_"Oliver grimaced in angered annoyance as he tried to cover up. "Don't you knock?" he growled._

"I'm glad I don't," Thea huffed. "Otherwise would he have ever told me?" She had finally uncurled from next to Tommy and had gone back to fully watching the memory. She didn't want to think that there was this berth between her and Oliver, but she could see that she wasn't helping matters either. She could imagine her joy at having her brother back only for him to pull away, and she wouldn't understand… and based on what she was seeing, she wasn't exactly trying that well either.

_"No." Thea declared, stalking into the room and forcing her brother to turn around. "Wait, Mom said that there were scars, but…" she gently pried the edges of his shirt from his hands and pulled it open to reveal even more scars on his chest. She stared in horror, a dawning realization of what he must have gone through finally coming upon her. "I'm-" she started, took a breath, and then started over. "Oliver, what happened to you out there?"_

_Oliver took a few moments to compose himself, pulling his shirt free from his sister and buttoning it. "I don't want to talk about it." He said._

_Thea scoffed. "Of course you don't." she said angrily. "You never want to talk to me about anything. Except for my social life." She started to leave._

"I'm screwing up," Thea sighed, but Laurel reached over and made sure Thea saw the smile.

"We all are," Laurel comforted.

Slade could see a few scars that were courtesy of himself, and he was glad to see how well they had stuck around. Anything to remind the kid of the betrayal he had caused against Slade.

_"Wait!" he called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Where are you going?" he asked._

_Thea crossed her arms in defiance. "Why should I tell you?" she demanded._

_Oliver took a breath, trying to find the words. "I'm sorry, Thea." He finally said. "I need to get better at talking about what happened to me there. But I'm not ready yet." He looked Thea in the eye, imploring her silently to understand. "Okay?"_

_Thea stared at her brother for a long moment. "Do you have a second?" she asked finally._

_"Yeah."_

_"Good. I wanna show you something out back." She turned and walked out of the room; Oliver grabbed his jacket and followed._

_Soon they were walking out onto the back yard of the manor. Thea led him to a clearing where two headstones had been erected. One read:_

_Robert Queen_

_1958-2007_

_A leader, a husband_

_The second read:_

_Oliver Queen_

_1985-2007_

_A loving son and brother, whose light was diminished far too soon_

_"Sometimes, when I felt… whatever, I'd come here." She said, coming to a stop in front of the headstones. She knelt down in front of Roberts's stone and brushed away some stray leaves. "About a month after the funerals, mom stopped going out. Pretty soon, she stopped talking altogether. The house got so quiet, so I'd come here." She stood and walked over to Oliver's stone. She pointed at it. "To talk to you."_  
  
"Do you think it was Oliver that brought us here?" Thea asked, her eyes jumping past Artemis to her mother. She was still furious with how Moira had kidnapped her own son, but right now, Thea just wanted a confirmation. Even knowing Oliver would be home soon enough, she still missed him terribly.

"That is something I believe our hosts will have to tell us," Malcolm said when he noticed that the archer against the door wasn't going to answer.

Moira had wanted to tell her daughter that he had, but she couldn't be sure. No one had even mentioned Oliver's name yet, and the videos were the only clue they had about the intentions of their hosts.

"Why hasn't he come to talk to us yet then?" Thea followed up.

Slade hoped silently that Oliver was dead… that the event they hoped to reshape was the fact Slade took his revenge on the kid.

_She was trying her best not to cry, but it was hard. "I mean, stupid stuff. Like what I was doing that day, what boy I had a crush on. And then sometimes, I'd ask you, beg you, to find your way home to me." She looked back to her brother. "Now, here you are. And the truth is, I felt closer to you when you were dead. Look, I know it was hell where you were. But it was hell here too. You gotta let me in, Ollie." She implored. "You gotta let someone in." she turned and walked away, leaving Oliver standing there at the markers. He stared down at his own, taking in everything she had said._

_The scene shifted to later that night in Laurel's apartment. She was looking over her notes for the Nocenti case on her laptop as she finished off a TV dinner when a knock at her door startled her. She paused, thinking she had miss heard, and then heard the knocking again. Cautiously, her father's warning still fresh in her mind, she approached the door and looked out the peephole. She opened the door a moment later to see Oliver standing there, brown paper bag in hand._

_"Hi." He said awkwardly. "Are you okay? There are two cop cars outside."_

_"How am I supposed to stay away from you if you won't stay away from me?" she asked sarcastically._

_"Glad to see you holding a grudge," Tommy remarked over the fact Laurel was grasping onto what Oliver had said. Laurel sighed and rolled her eyes, but otherwise didn't remark herself._

_"What are you doing here, Ollie?" she demanded._

_"My sister took," he paused, rethinking his words. "She pointed out to me that I have been distant since I got back and that It would probably be a good idea if I let somebody in."_

_"So, you thought you'd start with the first person you pushed away." Laurel pointed out._

_"I did that to protect you." Oliver reasoned, and then pushed on. "And then I saw you yesterday, and I realized that I hurt you." Laurel glowered at him, but finally stood aside and allowed him to enter. "Thank you." He said sincerely. He looked around the apartment. "Wow. This place hasn't changed in five years."_

_"I haven't really had time to redecorate." Laurel snarked as she walked past him._

_"I'm a jerk." He announced, bringing her up short. "Before the island, I was a jerk, and now I'm just a… I'm a damaged jerk." He finished lamely. Laurel turned around and looked at him, then decided to take pity on her ex-boyfriend._

_"What's in the bag?" she asked._

_Oliver smiled, reaching into the bag. "I thought about many things on the island, but there was one thing that I thought about every day." His smile grew, and he laughed slightly at the memory. "I actually dreamed about it, and I promised myself that if I ever got a chance to do it again, I'd do it with you."_

"I do not want to watch my brother have sex," Thea said with a remark of disgust.

_He pulled out a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream._

"Oh," she then said. Laurel, on the other hand, laughed.

_"Eat ice cream." He stated, and Laurel smiled._

_A short time later, Laurel was eating her ice cream out of a bowl, while Oliver just dug into the carton with his spoon. "This is as good as I remember." He said, smiling. After a moment, he spoke again. "My mother wants me to join the company." At her look, "Yeah. Take my rightful place."_

_"I can't exactly picture you as master of the universe." Laurel remarked, not meanly, but honestly._

_Oliver smiled tightly. "You know, after five years, I have plans." He announced. "I have things that I have to do. I can't do that if I'm, I don't know… attending board meetings and stockholder briefings."_

"Like shoot people with arrows apparently," Quentin growled.

_"Oliver?" Laurel said. At his look, "You're an adult. You can say no."_

_"Oh, I tried." He pointed out. "Didn't take."_

_"Well, then don't tell her. Show her." She reasoned. "Be the person that you want her to see you as."_

_"Trust me. I have plenty of experience with disapproving parents."_

_"I have been on the receiving end of your father's disapproval." He agreed._

_"He blames himself more than he blames you." She said suddenly, leaning back into the couch. "He thinks that, you know, maybe if he and Sara were closer, she would have told him about the boat trip. And he could have stopped her from going with you."_  
  
Quentin looked at his daughter with a bit of awe; he hadn't realized how perceptive she was. He began to wonder if the rift between them could also be fixed. Things were better between them, but he wanted some things to go back to how they were before Sara died.

_Oliver looked at her sadly. "I am sorry." He said again._

_"You apologized already." Laurel replied._

_"And it'll never be enough."_

_They sat in silence, but then Oliver heard a noise. "Did you hear that?"_

_"What?" Laurel asked, confused. Oliver grabbed the knife he had used to open the ice cream carton; it was dull, but it would work in a pinch. "There's someone on the fire escape." Slowly he climbed to his feet, listening. He heard more noises, so he grabbed Laurel's hand, pulling her up._  
  
Malcolm had. Even though this was recorded, he had heard the tell-tale signs of someone about to break in. He was beginning to think that if he didn't stop Oliver's plans to go after the list, he would at the very least have to follow the young man around with his own bow. Oliver seemed to have a knack to get into some sort of trouble with either his son in tow or Ms. Lance… someone he knew his son pined for.

" _Hey, come on."_

 _"What?" she asked in confusion, even as he pulled her towards the door. They were halfway there when it crashed open, a large Asian man with an Uzi stumbling in after. Oliver turned and pulled Laurel deeper into the apartment, ducking a spray of bullets as he made their way towards her bedroom. He pulled her back when another figure came crashing in through her window from the fire escape. They kept low as they searched for a way out, even as Oliver looked for an opening to attack without revealing too much. He came up short as China White stalked into the room, twin knives held at the ready._  
  
"And you wonder why I put a police detail on you?" Quentin asked, fear gripping him. Suddenly, he was very thankful Oliver was there. The young man would protect his daughter at any cost.

 _Suddenly more gunfire erupted, this time from Diggle as he stormed into the room. The first gunman went down quickly, as did the second. But China White proved too fast; she disarmed Dig in seconds. He in turn relieved her of one of her knives, and parried several thrusts with his hands, his special forces training evident. But China White was again too fast; she took him down and prepared to stab him. As she brought her knife up for a killing blow, Oliver flipped the dinner knife in his hand and threw it hard, knocking the blade out of the Asian woman's hand._  
  
"You look impressed Dad," Tommy said noticing the gleam in his father's eyes.

"A knife like that wouldn't be properly weighted," Malcolm sighed not wanting to reveal too much. "It would be difficult to throw with any type of accuracy."

"And how would you know something like that?" Slade asked, and the two men met each other in a glare. It was only when Artemis whistled and indicated for them to continue watching that they were able to tear themselves away.

_She looked up in surprise, and then decided discretion was the better part of valor and scrambled out the ruined door._

_Laurel ran into Oliver's arms, crying in terror even as Dig clambered to his feet, grabbing his gun on the way up. He looked to his client._

_"Are you hurt? Are you hurt, Mr. Queen?!" he yelled._

_"No! No." Oliver replied, stunned himself by what had transpired._

_"This is why it's a good idea to have a bodyguard!" Dig remarked as he moved to check the rest of the apartment, even as Oliver checked over Laurel._

_A short time later, cops were removing the dead men from Laurel's apartment as Quentin Lance ran in. He looked around for a moment, out of breath, before he spotted his daughter. He ran to her and pulled her into a hug._

_"Daddy!" she said, still frightened._

_"Oh, thank God." Quentin said, relieved. "Thank God. Are you all right?"_

_"I'm okay." She assured him, then asked the question she really didn't want the answer to. "Those cops that you put on me…" she trailed off._

_"They…" he started, hesitantly, and was saved when Diggle answered for him._

_"I went outside to ask for a light, and they were both dead in the squad car."_

_Quentin looked at the bodyguard in gratitude. "Mr. Diggle, thank you." He said. "Feel free to run as many red lights in the city as you want."_

_"I was just doing my job, sir." Dig assured him. Quentin shook his head._

_"No, your job is protecting him." He looked at Oliver. He stalked up close to the man. "It seems like whenever you're with one of my daughters, people die." He snarled. "You stay away from Laurel, or I swear the next time you disappear, it will be permanent."_

"You just can't help yourself can you?" Laurel asked exasperated. "He saved my life."

"To me, that me, it was Mr. Diggle that did," Quentin said with a shake of his head.

_"Dad!" Laurel exclaimed._

_"No, Laurel..." the Detective started, but was cut off by Oliver._

_"It's okay." Oliver said. "I understand."_

_"Yeah." Quentin said, moving back to his daughter._

_Later that evening back at the Manor, Dig was sitting on the sofa nursing his injured hand. Oliver walked in, tossing the man an ice pack._

_"Here!" he said "I'd say thank you, but I don't think that would cover it."_

_"Well, like I told your cop friend, I was just doing my job." Dig replied, standing. "Besides, I think it should be you that I'm thanking."_

_Oliver looked at him in confusion. "What for?" he asked._

_"The knife." Dig said simply. Oliver nodded in understanding._

_"The knife." He said. "I got lucky."_

_"That was a kitchen knife." Dig argued. "It wasn't even weighted properly, yet you threw it with accuracy across a 10-foot room."_

_"Exactly." Oliver said. "I got lucky."_

_Diggle stepped up to the man, though kept far enough away to be respectful. "I'm not the kind of man you want to take for a fool, Mr. Queen, you understand me?" he stated._

_"Yes." Oliver agreed._

_"And I think I'm just beginning to understand the kind of man you are." Dig said observantly._

_"Shouldn't take you very long. I'm shallow." Oliver quipped. "And very tired, so good night." With that, Oliver headed to his room._

"That was an utterly… crap lie," Thea said, mouth agape. "Who would believe he got lucky?"

"At this rate, any of us would have," Laurel sighed. "Because we can't see what we expect."

"Mr. Diggle is an intelligent ex-soldier," Malcolm added. "He will put two and two together if Oliver is not careful." He purposefully left out that he had a hunch that Oliver had not done that on accident.

"I do not know if I want this bodyguard near my son if he is going to help Oliver get arrested," Moira said contemplatively.

"Not that Ollie needs a bodyguard," Thea laughed.

_"Good night, sir." Diggle called out, still nursing the hand._

_The scene shifted to the Foundry, where Oliver was busy getting his gear on._

_'I wanted to give Martin Somers the chance to confess and face a court's justice, but he chose to go after someone I care about instead.' His voice intoned as he got out his bow. 'He's still going to face justice. It'll just be a different kind.'_  
  
It frightened Laurel to see how easily Oliver switched between his personas, but it warmed her to know that he cared enough to go after the man that tried to have her killed. She tried to ignore the fact Oliver would probably end up murdering Somers himself.

Tommy risked a glance at Laurel and tried not to groan at the look of appreciation on her face. Oliver wasn't even back in the flesh yet, and currently, his friend had a better shot with Laurel then he did. However… if Oliver really wanted to be back with Laurel, Tommy wasn't going to stand in his way. He wasn't like that, and he wouldn't do that to his best friend… Though he could say that he was glad Laurel was seeing exactly what type of man Oliver now was; Tommy wasn't sure if he had only known this secret how he would have felt. Seeing Oliver kill… people… was still really unsettling, and he wouldn't have wanted Laurel near that without knowing it all and making her own informed decision.

Then again, Tommy sighed and realized he would have probably just told Laurel in an attempt to sully Oliver… not now, but if he had somehow found out while no one else knew.

_The scene shifted again to the docks, where Martin Somers was hurriedly stuffing bundles of cash into a case._

_"Triad bitch screwed up the hit on Lance." He growled to his bodyguard. "Now, the Triad is gonna erase every ounce of evidence of their smuggling operation, including me. Except that's not gonna happen." He closed up the case and looked back to his man. "Tell Wallace to get the boat ready." He ordered. "I'm leaving tonight."_

_"Wallace? Wallace, you copy?" the man asked into his radio. There was no response. "Wallace?"_

_-Wallace isn't here- A familiar voice sounded on the radio, and Somer's face filed with dread as he recognized The Arrow. -But I am.-_

Slade appreciated the intimidation tactics. Oliver had improved all around since the mercenary last saw him. The ex-ASIS did everything he could to memorize Oliver's new fighting style and skillset. No point in being surprised himself if he didn't have to be.

_"We need to move, now." He ordered. "Move!"_

_"Sir, we've got six men out there." The man argued, but Somers pulled him along._

_"It's not enough. Move it!" he ordered as they ran out of the building._

_Back at Laurel's apartment, Quentin was busy laying down the law, so to speak, to his daughter._

_"You're gonna go back into that courtroom tomorrow and you're gonna recuse yourself from this case, all right?" he demanded. "Or drop it. Either way, you're done."_

_"If you think I'm gonna abandon Emily Nocenti, then you don't know me all that well." Laurel shot back._

_"You don't know me well, young lady." Quentin countered. "I will lock you in a cell if that's what it takes."_  
  
"Now there's an idea. Get you away from these cases and that nutcase Queen," Quentin said with a nod.

_Laurel rose from the couch and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess that's what it's gonna take then." She said walking away._

_"Damn it, Laurel!" Quentin shouted, his voice cracking from fear. "I thought after what happened with Sara, you'd stop being just so reckless!"_

_"It's not about being reckless!" she shouted back heatedly. "It's just the opposite. I'm trying to make this city safer, just like you."_

_"Sweetie." He tried, coming up to her. "You're my only daughter, Laurel. You're all I have left to live for."_

_"But what you want from me isn't living." She countered again, near tears. "Having cops around, not being able to do my job…"_

_"Your job is not going after people like the Triad! Or Somers…"_

_"My job is to use the law to fight for what is right. Just like you taught me."_

_"Well, that's dirty." Quentin said brokenly. "Using me against me. You can't do that." He argued._

Laurel glanced again to her father, but he was focused heavily on the memory. She missed when they could have a conversation that didn't relate back to how she was going to get herself killed. However seeing it like this, Laurel was beginning to understand how her father felt. After almost seeing herself die, she couldn't imagine what something like that would do to her father.

_"Well maybe I picked that up along the way, too." Laurel joked softly. Lance let out a soft laugh. Suddenly his phone went off._

_"Lance." He said answering it. He listened for a moment. "I'll be right there." He said, hanging up. He looked at his daughter. "I gotta go." He said. "Something's going on at the docks."_

_At the docks, it was pandemonium as The Hood leapt from walk way to walkway, staying one step ahead of the guards bullets and taking them out, one at a time. He spied Somers running into a building as he killed the last guard._

_"Somers!" he shouted, jumping down to the ground and following him._

_In the building, Somers was running as fast as he could, trying to get away. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't fast enough. An arrow pinned him to a crate at the far end of the room. "Oh, God, no, no, no…" he cried out as The Hood stalked up, nocking another arrow._

_"He can't help you." The Hood growled._

"Oliver is terrifying. I just want to say that," Tommy said as he gulped. He hoped his name wasn't on this list thing. Thea agreed- seeing her brother like this- was unsettling. Her brother prior to the island could never be so ruthless.

_"I want the truth about Victor Nocenti." He let the arrow fly, pinning is right shoulder to the crate._

_"I can't! The Triad will kill me."_

_"The Triad's not your concern right now!" The Hood snarled. At Somers reluctance, he let another arrow fly, right below the man's crotch._

_"All right, all right, all right!" Somers cried out. "It wasn't me that killed him. It was the Triad." He sobbed._

_"Acting on whose instructions? Whose?" he shouted, shooting another arrow right above the man's head._

_"All right, all right! It was mine." He confessed. "It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me."_

_Suddenly he saw something over the vigilante's shoulder and paled even further. The Hood spun, and arrow nocked as he came face to face with China White._

_"Cóng tā shēnshang yí kāi" She demanded in Mandarin._

_"Ràng wǒ." He replied in flawless Mandarin._

"What language can't he speak?" Thea grumbled realizing at this rate her mother was going to force her to take a foreign language class.

Malcom was less interested in the language barriers and more about how Oliver would hold himself against a highly trained Triad assassin. Even Slade was curious to see how the kid could do against someone not rich and begging for their lives.

_She came at him hard, knives flashing. He parried each blow with his bow. A kick sent him to the ground, but he was quickly up and blocking her again. In a battle of skills, The Hood was good- but China White was just a bit better. Another kick sent him sprawling to the ground, when suddenly a voice blared over a loud speaker._

Slade couldn't believe what he was seeing- the kid could actually fight. The mercenary had figured against Drakon that had been a fluke, but Oliver had obviously been well trained after the island. Still, Slade could see that Oliver was a better bowsman than hand to hand combatant. That worked well for Slade since he planned to use his sword to take his revenge and fulfill his promise.

_'This is the Police! Put down your weapons or we will open fire. I repeat, lay down your weapons!'_

_The two warriors spared one another a glance, and then both took off to opposite exits. The Hood made his way outside, tossing his bow on top of a shipping container and clambering up after it. Gabbing the bow, he leapt off. He started to run to where he had hidden his motorcycle when-_

_"Freeze!" Lance yelled, coming out from between two containers with his gun drawn. The Hood froze, his head down so that his hood hid his face. "You twitch and you're dead." He promised, moving a bit closer. "Bow down, hands up."_

"That's what I thought," Quentin snickered. "Police work trumps vigilantism."

Slade chuckled; Oliver with his bow could easily kill the detective and leave… but the mercenary figured that Queen wouldn't do something like that. The boy lacked the nerve, something Slade couldn't even get through to him. The one time Oliver had taken a life with so little care had been Fryers or that pirate… both of which to save Shado. Slade growled- then the kid went and killed her. He was going to enjoy taking everything away from Oliver and turning it to ash.

_They stood there for a few moments, a silent battle of wills playing out. Then suddenly, The Hood pulled a flachette out of his thigh quiver and threw it side-handed. It knocked the gun from Lance's hand and pinned it to the shipping crate a few feet behind the Detective. Lance gasped, looking at his hand in disbelief, and then looking at his gun hanging from the crate. When he turned back to the vigilante, The Hood was gone._

_Lance looked back at his gun, then noticed the flachette had some kind of device attached to the shaft. It looked to be a recording device, its indicator light blinking green. Lance cautiously hit the play button_

_'All right, all right! It was mine!" Martin Somers voice cried out. 'It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me…'_

_Lance shook his head. "Son of a bitch."_

_Lance looked at the recording device in disbelief- The Arrow had managed to tape Somer's confession. 'You son of a bitch.' He said as his fellow officer finally made it to the scene._

"That is going to be exceptionally hard to convince a judge to stand," Laurel sighed. "Coercion anyone?"

"See?" Quentin. "He's not helping, he's hindering."

"It did," the elder Thea announced. "Vigilante isn't a cop, and Somers worried about the consequences of lying. He decided jail was safer." To which, Quentin grumbled.

_Back at the Foundry, Oliver was putting his gear away._

_'Laurel was right.' His voice said. 'I can't be the Oliver my mother wants me to be and still keep the promise I made to my father. I have to be the person I need them to see me as.'_

"Why did I have to say that?" Laurel groaned.

Moira watched with trepidation at what her son was planning. She found herself a bit more fearful for whatever he was going to do then when he was fighting the Chinese assassin.

_The scene changed to the next day, at the site for the new Applied Sciences Center groundbreaking. A crowd milled around as Moira and Thea stood on the stage._

_"Oh! Excuse me, ladies." Tommy said, weaving through the crowd until he found his target. "Okay, this is a surprise." He said to Laurel, who shot him an amused look. "Did you show up here by mistake?"_

_"By invitation." She clarified. "Oliver invited me last night."_

_"Last night?"_

_Laurel smiled. "Is that surprise or jealousy I'm hearing?" she asked playfully._

"Jealousy," Thea confirmed.

_"Look, I just don't want him to find out anything, okay?" Tommy said. "Oliver has been through a lot."_

_"Tommy, we've all been through a lot." She pointed out. Their conversation was cut short by Walter, who took the stage._  
  
Laurel tried not to shake her head at her own naivety. Oliver had been through more than enough, and she wasn't exactly helping things.

_"Good afternoon, and thank you all for coming." He began. "Welcome to the future site of the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Center." There was polite applause. "Now, this is a building that will stand as a monument to the man whose company, and vision, are his greatest legacies."_

_"Whoa! Whoa!" a voice called out. Everyone turned to see Oliver, dressed in suit with no tie and obviously drunk. He paused by a waitress to take another drink and quickly downed it, give her the glass back. "What about me? Right? I'm a legacy." he said, managing to pull himself up on the stage, much to Thea's disgust and embarrassment. "Hey! Thanks for warming them up, Walt." He took the gold shovel from Walter and gently pushed him aside to stand in front of the podium as the crowd started whispering amongst themselves._

_"All right. I got it, I got it." He smiled for the cameras. "Some of you may not know me. My name is Oliver Queen. Watch some television, read a newspaper, I'm kind of famous right now. Mostly, though, I'm famous because I'm Robert Queen's son." Moira's face fell as Thea looked on, unbelieving. "Uh, but as Walter, who's my new dad Huh? Who is… sorry. As Walter was saying, I'm not much of a legacy, per se."_

_"Oliver, you don't have to do this." Walter said quietly, trying to guide the drunk man away from the podium. Oliver waved him off._

_"No, sit. Sit! Gosh."' Walter reluctantly sat down, and Oliver turned back to the microphone. "See, I was supposed to come here today, and I'm supposed to take my rightful place at the company. Prodigal son returns home and becomes the heir apparent." He almost seemed to instantly sober up, the resentments he usually kept buried coming to the surface. "But I'm not my father. I'm not the man he was. I'm not half the man he was. I never will be. So, please, stop asking me to be." His point made, he planted the shovel in the mound of dirt besides the stage, then walked past his stunned family, Thea still shooting him a look, though it was more sad than anything else. He jumped off the stage and walked off, not saying another word._

"Oliver is more than twice the man Robert was," Malcolm said. While Moira and Thea wanted to argue, they couldn't find it in themselves too. Oliver had been back a few short days, and he was fighting hard to make a difference. Moira thought back on her unfaithful husband, and while he had been a good man, Oliver was so much more. It struck her to have him think he wasn't.

_The scene shifted, and now a news report was playing as footage of police cars at the docks played._

_'Martin Somers, the CEO of starling port, was arrested last night for the murder of Victor Nocenti. He is also being accused of accepting cash, including over $10 million in bribes.' Joanna turned off the news and looked back to Emily Nocenti as they, with Laurel stood in the CNRI offices._

_"Well, we can pursue the civil suit if you want, but the D.A. now has no choice, with Mr. Somers' confession, to prosecute him." Joanna explained to the smiling girl._

_"He's going to jail, Emily." Laurel added. "For the rest of his life."_

_"Thank you so much for fighting for us." Emily said, shaking their hands. Laurel smiled back at her._

_"Well, thank you for being brave enough to let me."_

_Emily turned and walked out, just as Quentin Lance came in._

_"Hey." He said, smiling at his daughter. Laurel rolled her eyes and moved back to her desk._

_"I thought I didn't need police protection anymore."_

_"I thought I didn't need a reason to see my own daughter." He countered._

_Laurel sat down and smiled. "You don't." she looked him over. "You look tired."_

_"Yeah, I was filling out reports on the shootout at the port last night." Quentin explained. "And getting grilled about how I let that archer get away."_

_"I have to admit, I'm kind of glad he did." Laurel said quietly. "He brought down Martin Somers."_

_"He hurt a bunch of people doing it, okay?" Quentin pointed pout. "He is no hero. He is an anarchist."_

_"Yeah, well, whoever he is, it seems like he's trying to help." Laurel noted._

Help was something the city seriously needed. Criminals had had their reign long enough, and each in their own way save Slade were trying to make it a better place. Slade would rather just burn the entire place to the ground.

_"The city doesn't need that kind of help, okay?" Quentin said, somewhat heatedly. "It's like I always told you, you don't need to go outside the law to find justice. Now I believe that. All right?" Laurel looked up at her father as he continued. "And I promise you, when I catch this guy, he's gonna believe it, too."_

_The scene changed to Oliver's room, where he pulled out his father's book and crossed Martin Somers off the List. Oliver stared at the far wall, remembering._

"What is this List thing?" Tommy asked echoing from earlier. "Where did he get it?"

Moira sighed and said, "From Robert." Malcolm glared at her but she ignored him. She was certain all of their secrets were going to lay bare for the world to see.

"What do you mean its Dad's?" Thea asked, but for now, Moira wasn't sure how to answer that without risking her daughter. Malcolm would only let her say so much before she was tempting his enforcer after her family.

 _We flash back to the Island, where a struggling Oliver carried his father's body to the top of a ridge overlooking the bay. He gently laid the body down and collapsed next to it. He began to arrange the body so he could bury it, when he noticed something in pocket of his dad's jacket. Reaching in, he pulled out a small, tan notebook. He flipped through it, noticing that all of the pages appeared to be blank. However, he noticed some kind of strange marking on the inside cover, and he stared at it in puzzlement._  
  
"Guess that would have answered that," Tommy stated. "But it's blank…"

_Back in the present, a long black limo pulled up next to a silver sedan on an abandoned stretch of road. Moira got out of the sedan and entered the limo. She closed the door and looked to the other occupant._

_"Well, you saw for yourself. My son knows nothing." She stated plainly, taking off her sunglasses. "Robert didn't tell him anything that could hurt us. And he has no idea that the yacht was sabotaged."_

_The second figure said nothing, even as he held up a small notebook to examine it. On the inside cover was the same symbol that was in Robert's book._

"Who was that?" Laurel asked.

"That would be the reason I had Oliver kidnapped," Moira explained. "If not me, it would have been by worse people, and we might not have ever gotten him home." Looking to Thea, she continued, "Hate me if you must but understand I will do whatever I can to protect you and your brother. No matter the cost."

The elder Thea couldn't help but think 'never a truer statement'.

_Back at the Manor, when stood a respectful distance away as Oliver approached the two tombstones. Ignoring his own, he knelt down in front of his fathers. I his hands he held the notebook._

_"All that time on the island, plotting my return, I didn't realize how hard it would be." He began hesitantly. "To reconnect with Mom, Thea… Laurel….okay, I didn't," he paused for a breath, fighting to hold back his tears. "I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets."_

_"You asked me to save the city." He continued. "To right your wrongs. I will. I swear. But to do that, I can't be the Oliver that everyone wants me to be," he explained sadly, "which means that sometimes to honor your wishes I need to dishonor your memory. I'm sorry." He finished with a whisper. Oliver took a few moments to compose himself, then stood._

_"Take it down." He told the workmen, jabbing a thumb towards his own tombstone. The two men went to work as Oliver approached the car, and Diggle, who had stood silent watch._

_"Will you be going out tonight, sir?" he asked as Oliver got in the car._

_"Definitely." Oliver replied as the door closed._

_Back on the island, Oliver was placing the last stone on the cairn he had entombed his father's body in. He stood to inspect his work-_

_There was a sudden whooshing sound-_

_And Oliver screamed in pain. Looking down at his right shoulder, he stared unbelievingly at the arrow that had pierced him from behind. He screamed in pain once more, collapsing next to the grave. He looked around, and in the distance behind him saw a figure. All he could make out through the haze of pain was a green hood as the figure readied another arrow._

"Ollie," Thea gasped. She didn't want to see her brother in anymore pain.

"That hood… looked familiar," Tommy remarked.

Slade kept it to himself that Oliver wasn't fit to even touch that hood not after what he did to Shado, but Slade was a patient man. He had waited three years for this; he could wait a bit longer to see what this all was about.

"No, no…" he said weakly. Then he said no more as he passed out from the pain.

"I know you have questions," Artemis stated as she came to stand off the door. "I know you're confused." Licking her lips, the elder Thea tried to decide how to proceed. "Watch a few more, and I promise I will answer the questions you have."

"I have one you will answer now," Moira said, unafraid. "Where is my son?" She had waited long enough to see Oliver, and she wasn't about to wait any longer if he was here.

In her ear, Roy went "Oh, have fun with that one dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I know I have an insane weekend, I figured I'd post this now. However this is a once a week story (probably updated Friday-Saturday). It takes me a few days to write these and edit them. Hope you're enjoying the ride.


	5. Lone Gunman

**Lone Gunman**

Artemis sighed as not only did Moira round on her but her younger self as well. The elder archer should have realized that the group wasn't going to just sit quietly as they were told to do. They had questions, and they weren't about to dwell on them without good reason. However, Artemis did not see a way to divulge what she knew without off-balancing her friends, family, and the other one- Slade. They weren't useful like this, and they would be even less so if she told them everything.

Thus the elder Thea decided to speak carefully, not entirely lying but leaving out some of the truth as well. "Oliver," she said with an unseen flinch, "is earth-side currently. He cannot be here, and thus I am."

"And who are you?" Moira asked.

"Artemis," the elder Thea replied with ease. 

"Who are you really?" the younger Thea questioned, glaring holes into the hood hoping to see past the mask. 

"As I said, I will answer what I can soon enough," Artemis continued indicating with a hand to the television. "To understand it though, you need to watch more." 

"You're hiding something," Quentin added, to which Artemis simply shrugged to in response. "I'll find out what."

"I'm not lying when I say I'll tell you the truth… Just later." No one looked thrilled by Artemis's explanation, least of all Moira and Thea. They did seem to be exhilarated with the idea that Oliver was alive, just not currently available. To a small degree, the older Thea felt bad for lying, but she needed them to keep an open mind and see things without bias. 

"For someone who hated being lied to," the Canary said into her ear piece.

"Go away," Artemis growled quietly. "Start the next one."

"Sorry Laurel," Roy said, obviously talking to the Canary in the booth. "Here we go," he continued to the elder Thea as the next memory loaded.

Malcolm eyed the archer with a tad more interest; he had seen the flinch at the mention of Oliver's name. He was curious what led to such a reaction, and given the next chance, he would find out. The ex-League member was unwilling to lack information that could be vital to him. Based on what he had gleamed thus far though, the elder archer was careful about what she revealed, so he'd have to word his own thoughts wisely later if he wanted to trip her up and learn something new. 

Slade scowled with the thought that Oliver was still alive. His plan had failed, his promise unfulfilled. He'd watch these memories, he'd play nice too- all of this if it meant he'd have the chance to try again and fix whatever his other self had obviously messed up in this timeline. 

_The scene opens with Oliver in the Foundry. He's working out, as per his usual, though this time he's using cement blocks and chains as a make-shift weight station.  
_  
Tommy tried not to groan; he was beginning to think there wasn't anything his friend could do. He swore if he asked Oliver to move a car, the Queen scion probably could. Each memory worked to chip away any chance Tommy had with Laurel, and when he chanced a glance by Thea to Laurel, he noticed her staring. Nonetheless, she somehow seemed to know and glanced back at Tommy with a small smile.

Laurel couldn't help but mouth 'Jealous?'

Thea laughed, "Yes."  
 _  
'My Name is Oliver Queen.' His voice sounded over his workout. 'To my family, I am the brother and son who just returned home after being lost at sea 5 years ago. They don't know I came back with a mission, to bring justice to our city, and they never can.' He pulled the chain taught, holding the cement blocks up in the air several feet for a few seconds, then let them drop. The blocks shattered on the hard concrete floor. Oliver toweled off and moved over to his workbench, pulling up some information on his computer._

_'The men and women I've targeted are dangerous, corrupt; a virulent cancer. Cancers like James Holder, whose corporation put defective smoke detectors in low-income housing in The Glades.' He pulled out his father's notebook and flipped through its pages until he found Holder's name. 'There have been many fires and too many funerals. But cancers can be fought and conquered.' He opened his munitions box and pulled out his bow, testing its flexibility and looking for any significant damage. He found none. 'All it takes is a surgeon and the right instrument.' With that thought, he moved back to his bench to string his bow and prepare for his night's meeting with James Holder._  
  
Sighing Quentin said, "Holder is one man I would say deserved this."

"Oh?" Malcolm asked, judging the detective.

"Those fires claimed a lot of lives. I was there for the clean-up," he explained with a shake of his head. "He deserved jail."

"And yet your police couldn't touch him," Malcolm countered. "Oliver is about to." The young archer was doing an excellent job of making a name for himself. At first, Malcolm wasn't sure all the press would be bright, but the rumors and stories were easily weaving a story that warned of the dangers to those targeted by the vigilante. 

_The scene changed to the rooftop pool of Holder's penthouse. He was in a bathrobe, drinking a beer getting ready for a swim as he talked on his phone to a colleague._

_"Heh." He laughed at something the other person said. "Other than the bill I got handed this morning by my legal team, I'm feeling pretty good. Plus, now that this lawsuit's been settled, we can focus our attention on Unidac Industries."_

While Malcolm remained still at the mention of Unidac, he felt Moira twitch. Grasping her hand, he squeezed hoping to ground her. He could see these memories were going to eventually play into his Undertaking, but that did not mean he would be revealed as the Dark Archer or the primary conspirator. 

_Holder listened for a moment. "Ok. I'll see you in the office first thing." He cut the connection and tossed the phone onto a poolside couch. He took a breath and looked around the skyline, then brought the bottle of beer up to take a drink-_

_And it was shattered by an arrow._

"He does know how to make an entrance," Tommy chuckled while silently praying that Oliver wouldn't kill this one. Already the younger Merlyn was growing queasy at how quickly the body count was rising.

"I'm sure Holder is not thinking the same thing," Laurel responded.

_Holder spun around to see The Hood standing there._

_"I have armed security inside." He threatened. "All I have to do is call out."_

_"Go ahead." The Hood replied, tossing the two guns he had liberated from their owners to the deck. "They can't hear you."_

Slade leaned back in enjoyment. He could almost pretend that it wasn't Oliver threatening this man into obedience. Almost.

"Does Queen not understand the definition of murder?" Quentin asked infuriated. 

"If he ever gets caught, he's going to need a good lawyer," Laurel added, frowning. Depending on who was DA at that time would determine whether or not Oliver would face the death penalty for these actions or an insane asylum. 

_"What the hell do you want?" Holder demanded._

_"How many people died in those fires?" The Hood growled. "How many?! The courts say you don't owe your victims anything; I disagree. James Holder, you-" Before he could finish, a shot rang out, and a bloody wound appeared on Holder's chest, right where his heart was._

Everyone, save Slade and Malcolm, jumped an inch at the sound of the gunshot. The two men exchanged another glare before focusing on the television again. The elder Thea made note to be sure those two stayed on opposite ends of the room from here on out- it would, otherwise, be a dangerous mixture. 

_As Holder's lifeless body was falling into the pool, The Hood spun around and started firing arrows towards where he believed the shooter was. He ducked down behind a low wall just as two more shots rang out. One pierced the wall and into his arm; the other missed entirely. Then it was silent. Oliver looked to the pool to see Holder's body slowly sinking to the bottom, then he glanced over the wound on his arm with a frown._

_The scene shifted back to the lair as Oliver extracted the bullet, and then sewed up the wound. Once finished, he put on a shirt and got up, moving over to his workbench and opening the notebook._

"And he doesn't go to the hospital? Is Ollie insane?" Thea cried. She tried to grasp that she had just seen her brother shot, but then to watch him stitch himself up without so much as a groan…

"Your brother dresses up like Robin Hood and runs around on rooftops, and you're wondering if he's insane? I would go with yes, yes he is," Quentin answered.

"Dad," Laurel said in warning. "He probably would have gotten something back to the victims if Holder hadn't been shot." The last two times Oliver had threatened money from the lowlife scum, they had caved rather quickly once their security was gone.

_'It's no surprise a man as corrupt as James Holder has more than one enemy.' His voice said as he crossed Holder's name off the list. He sat back in his chair, a look of discomfort playing over his face. He suddenly got to his feet, and then staggered into the table. He caught himself on the edge and barely stopped himself from falling down._  
  
"It was just a graze though… right?" Tommy asked suddenly worried. He might not be thrilled with what Oliver was doing, but he didn't want to see the other man hurt either.

Malcolm narrowed his gaze; with Oliver's condition, a small scratch such as that wouldn't cause a stumble. Something else was at play, and Malcolm patiently waited to see what.

_'The bullet.' He thought as he staggered over to the other bench, digging around in the surgeon's pan for the offending piece of metal. 'Poison!' he realized._

Moira gasped, and she tried to remind herself that it would make no sense for Oliver to die here. Nonetheless, she could only see herself burying another body, another funeral, another heartbreak. She couldn't take losing him again. "I can't," she whispered. Only Malcolm heard her.

"You won't," he promised… save for if Oliver got in his way, but perhaps, he could find a way to contain the boy and not kill him. It was something he'd have to consider for Moira's sake at the very least. 

_He grabbed a water bottle and sprinted to his munitions crate, practically sliding into is as he crashed to the floor. He deftly undid the lock and dug around for something, finally pulling out a small leather pouch filled with mysterious herbs. He took a large pinch of the herbs and threw them into his mouth, then started chewing them as he opened the water bottle and took a drink. Once done, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious._

Those herbs… Slade made note of where they were at in Oliver's bow case. He'd have to help Oliver get rid of those before attacking; Slade didn't want to risk the kid having a way out when the time came.

"What were those?" Laurel whispered to Tommy, who could only shrug in response.

_The scene flashed back to the island, where Oliver awoke in a cave. Groggily and in pain, he looked around, then down-_

_To see the arrow still sticking out of his shoulder._

"Wait, go back," Thea said, flabbergasted. Swiftly turning, she looked at her older self (without realizing it of course). "Is he going to be okay?"

"Your brother has survived worse," was all Artemis could force out while gulping down any emotion.

_Oliver groaned in pain as he struggled to sit up, but he stopped moving as another man entered the cave. He was a thin Asian man, with a scraggly beard and long, stringy black hair that was partially obscured by the green hood he wore. He carried a bow and on his back was a quiver filled with arrows._

_"Who are you?" Oliver asked, frightened. "Why did you shoot me?"_

_"Wèile bǎohù nín." The man replied in Mandarin. He kneeled down besides the boy and held out a handful of herbs and a small bowl with water. He indicated to Oliver to take the herbs and water. "Yǐnliào." He said in Mandarin. Oliver finally got the hint and, taking a small pinch of the herbs, put them in his mouth. He choked slightly on the acrid taste and quickly down the water. After he finished drinking, the man grasped the arrow and pulled it out through his shoulder, causing Oliver to cry out in pain once more._

"Was that necessary?" Laurel gasped.

"It is better to pull an arrow through the wound instead of trying to take it out the way it went in," Malcolm explained trying to keep his tone neutral. Someone without archery knowledge could figure this out in the elder Merlyn's mind. 

"The arrowhead won't get stuck that way," Thea added. At Malcolm's inquisitive look, Thea elaborated, "I took archery lessons from middle school to my junior year. I wasn't that good."

Artemis tried not to snort out a laugh; she remembered the trophies she would win as a child from archery. She had been nowhere near Oliver's level after all those years, but her targets were not usually moving. Thus, she wasn't that bad actually. Now, of course, she was a master with her bow. It had taken time to acclimate to it again once she had decided to return to it, but the bow was now merely an extension of herself… Oliver, she shuddered at the thought, taught her that. 

_Back in the present, Oliver gasped as he regained consciousness. The first thing he noticed was sunlight streaming down upon him; the second thing was an alarm. He looked up at his computer monitor, and the clocked that showed 7:10 on its face. Cursing to himself, he shot to his feet and grabbed his jacket to head home._  
  
"What were those?" Laurel asked. "He was poisoned, and now..?"

"I've never seen anything like that," Quentin frowned. As a detective, he had seen a lot but a poisoned bullet and healing herbs were going to top that list.

"They're from the island," Slade said, monotone and detached.

"Are you?" Moira asked, but Malcolm didn't need to be told. The Dark Archer could tell that whoever this man was he had been on the island and something that happened there caused a tear between Oliver and this ex-mercenary.

Slade merely smirked in answer to Moira but otherwise did not voice anything.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver walked in through the house, shaking his arm in slight pain. He slowed as he approached the sitting room, where Moira and Walter were talking with two cops as Thea sat glumly on the sofa._

"Just ground me for life now," Thea groaned. "Every time… every time I think I'm done with something…"

"Stupid?" Tommy helpfully added. He patted her on the back. "Don't worry I could tell you stories about Oliver and myself that would raise even your hair on end."

Malcolm and Moira glared at Tommy, who quickly retracted, "Or not. We did nothing exciting of the sort."

Laurel snorted out a laugh. "I'm sure Tommy."

_"What happened?" Oliver asked Diggle, who was standing watch in the doorway. "Thea ok?"_

_The bodyguard turned to face him. "The cops brought her home." He explained. "Her and some of her friends broke into a store, tried on some dresses last night. Lit up the breathalyzer like a Christmas tree."_

_Diggle looked the younger man over. "So how was your evening, sir?" he asked dryly._

_"You mean after I said I had to go to the bathroom at dinner and never came back?" Oliver shot back glibly.  
_  
"What's the score now? Oliver, four, and Diggle zero?" Tommy chuckled. 

"I wonder if I could slip a GPS tracker under his skin," Quentin pondered aloud.

Now that was an idea, Slade mused. If he could track Oliver's whereabouts, it would make obtaining his revenge all the easier. He could manipulate situations perfectly into his favor. All he had to do was catch the kid unaware for a few minutes. 

_"I guess from now on I'll be watching you pee." He replied. The two stared at each other for several moments before Oliver moved past him to Thea, a small smile on his face that rapidly disappeared._  
  
"Do you think he was serious?" Tommy gaped suddenly worried that with Oliver lacking the need for a bodyguard, he might end up with Mr. Diggle. 

_"Thank you, officers. My wife and I appreciate it." Walter was saying to the cops. "I'll see you out." The tall Brit walked the two cops out of the room as Moira turned to her delinquent daughter._

_"Last time it was public intoxication." She started, "This time breaking and entering. My, how we are moving up in the criminal world."_

"At least it isn't vigilantism," Laurel teased jokingly as she shot her father a wink. 

The elder Thea choked for a brief second before clearing her throat. She watched as both Malcolm and Slade's gazes wandered over before returning to the television. She cursed herself for almost laughing at Laurel's comment. A few years too early, but Laurel would be correct soon enough.

_Thea tiredly got to her feet. "You know, when you pay off the store owner, you should check out the merchandise. They got some pretty killer outfits." She replied sarcastically._

_"Thea, go get ready for school." Moira said. Thea gave her a look._

_"Uh, you know, I was thinking of taking a sick day." She stated, silently daring her mother to argue. Moira didn't._

_"Fine, then get some sleep." She said wearily. Thea gave her a sarcastic smile as she sauntered out of the room._

_"You look like crap." She told her brother on the way out._

_Oliver looked at his mother in disbelief. "You're letting her play hooky?" he asked. Moira sighed._

_"When your sister gets like this, it's best to give her her space."_

_"She's testing you." Oliver reasoned._

_"Yes. Who'd she learn that from?" Moira pointed out._

_"Mom, when I was her age, you and dad let me get away with murder." He said. "Looking back, I could have used less space and more parenting." Oliver turned and left, leaving a contemplative Moira behind._

Moira smiled at the responsibility Oliver was showing; she only wished her own self on the television would realize that a bit more abruptly. Nearby, Thea groaned with the realization that her freedom was now being threatened by her own brother. She had spent five years gaining herself a nice personal circle with which she could get away with whatever she wanted, and now, it appeared that would all come crashing down.

"Does anyone else find it in, I don't know, bad taste that Oliver is getting away with murder now?" Tommy asked. Laurel looked as though she had been slapped while Quentin smiled in appreciation. No one else dared to say the m-word, but that's what Oliver was. Quentin was happy to see someone else was taking notice exactly what Oliver was doing.

Slade was reminded of the kid when he had first met the young playboy when he looked at Tommy… and he hated it. There was an urge to go over there and break the boy's neck, but based on how the boy's father was staring him down, Slade got the distinct feeling that Malcolm had gleamed what Slade had been thinking. Now the elder Merlyn was just daring Slade to try, and while the mercenary was usually ecstatic about a challenge, he was willing to wait patiently for his window. He didn't know enough about this Malcolm Merlyn yet, but Slade recognized another predator when he saw one.

_The scene shifted to Holder's penthouse swimming pool, where the coroners were busying fishing the corrupt businessman's body out of. Detective's Lance and Hilton looked on._

_"It doesn't make sense." Lance was saying to his partner._

_"Holder fits the profile." Hilton replied. "Wealthy dirtbag. Red meat for the Hood. And we recovered at least one arrow." He offered._

_"That's what you're going to call him?" Laurel asked. "The Hood?" She could bet her father came up with that one._

"Lame, right?" Thea echoed a moment later. "He needs a better name than the vigilante or the Hood."

"You're right," Malcolm agreed. "How about… Green Arrow."

Thea made a face and said, "Still lame."

_"Yeah, only this time the cause of death is a double tap through the heart and our perp doesn't use firearms." Lance pointed out._

_"Maybe he's finally figured out there's easier ways to kill people than with a bow and arrow." Hilton said, only half-joking. "It's like you said, the guy's a whack job." Lance looked at his partner, then at the body being secured to a stretcher, unconvinced._  
  
"Whack-job doesn't cover it," Quentin grumbled, but he watched with added interest. Thus far, the police had been focused heavily on stopping Oliver, but with another player in town, he was curious to see how they would handle the additional weight. 

_Back in the Lair, Oliver tested the bloody gauze from his wound, trying to confirm a suspicion. He proved himself right when the blood reacted to the chemicals._

_'The bullets were laced with curare, a rare and deadly poison, the killer's unique M.O.' Oliver's voice said as he started pulling up various federal databases, searching for a profile that fit. He found it on Interpol's database. 'He's killed all over the world Chicago, Markovia, Corto Maltese. Interpol even has a codename for him: Deadshot.'_

_He studied the limited information in the file. 'I was prepared to give James Holder a chance to right his wrongs, but this Deadshot has no morality, no honor, no code. He doesn't kill for justice, which makes him as dangerous as anyone on my list. In fact, it puts him right at the top.'_  
  
Moira shuddered. First, a Chinese triad assassin and now an international one. She tried not to consider what her son had gotten himself into this time. She was proud that he was attempting to protect the city, his city, but she wasn't entirely thrilled with the additional danger Oliver seemed content to throwing himself into.

_Later that day, Oliver led Tommy and Diggle through the Foundry- the upper level, that is._

_"So what do you think?" Oliver asked his friend as he gestured around the empty building. "Great spot for a nightclub or what?"_

_"Sweet." Tommy said. "Though I got to tell you, man, if you're thinking about calling it 'Queens', I don't think you're gonna get the clientele that you were hoping for."_

_Oliver pointed towards an upper level, where the foreman's offices had been. "Private office." He suggested._

_"For the private one-on-one meetings, I would imagine." Tommy inferred with a smile._

_"Hopefully the occasional two-on-one meeting." Oliver joked back. Tommy turned to his friend._  
  
Laurel glanced at Tommy. "You two are disgusting."

"Hey," he said hoping to defend himself. "I haven't said that."

"Yet," Laurel added.

_"Man, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked seriously. "It's not like you really have any experience in running a… well, running anything." Oliver just gave him a mildly insulted look. Tommy slapped him on the back. "How about tomorrow night the two of us, we go and scope out the competition." He suggested. "There's a new club opening downtown. It's called Poison. Max Fuller owns it."_

_"Max Fuller?" Oliver asked._

_"Mm-hmm." Tommy nodded._

_"I slept with his fiancé." Oliver pointed out with a smile._

Laurel scowled with the thought of another one of Oliver Queen's exploits. She was beginning to wonder who her ex-boyfriend hadn't slept with. 

" _Yeah, before the wedding."_

_"It was at the rehearsal dinner."_

_"The rehearsal dinner is technically before the wedding, right?" Tommy pointed out with a smile._

_"And besides, who stays mad at a castaway?" Tommy's phone rang, and he looked at it. "Ah, dammit, I got to roll," he said, slipping the phone back in his pocket. "Anyway, I'll see you later, man. Good place!"_

_"See you." Oliver called out, then looked to Dig._

_"So what do you think?" he asked._

_"Well, I'm here to provide security, sir, not a commentary."_

_"Oh, come on, Dig, do me a favor." Oliver said earnestly. "Speak freely, please."_

_Diggle took a moment to compose his words. "Well, this is The Glades, right?" he started. "Your rich white friends wouldn't come to this neighborhood on a bet."_

_"I am Oliver Queen, right? People would stand in line for 3 hours if I opened a club." He pointed out._

_"And no one who actually lives in The Glades would see a penny of those cover charges." Dig said._

_"So we make it a successful business, we gentrify the neighborhood."_

_"I was wondering when we would get to that." Dig scoffed. "The white knight swooping in to save the disenfranchised. And all by his lonesome with no help from anybody."_

_"Wow." Oliver said. "You don't think very much of me, do you?"_

_"No, sir." Dig disagreed. "Actually, I have a very high regard for how perceptive you are. Sir." He walked out of the foundry. Oliver took a last look around._

_'The nightclub will conceal my base underneath,' Oliver's voice said, 'and provide an alibi for where Oliver Queen spends his nights.'_

"How are we missing this?" Laurel asked. "The Oliver we knew could never be this…"

"Intelligent?" Thea offered with a wicked grin.

"I was going to say manipulative," Laurel instead finished. "He knows exactly how to play us, all of us."

"He's letting you see exactly what you want to see," Malcolm said.

"My son never use to be this good of an actor," Moira frowned. "He used to never be able to hide his giddiness about anything, and he always wore his heart on his sleeve." Each of these memories was chipping away at the Oliver they once knew and was revealing him to be this other one that none of them were sure they had accepted yet. 

Slade remembered vividly how well Oliver's acting had evolved. The kid could barely get a sentence out when they first met, and the next thing Slade had known the kid had convinced him almost of how it hadn't been his fault for Shado's death. If only Slade had slit the kid's throat when he first met. "You're son learned to excel at it Mrs. Queen," he growled. 

_The scene shifted to CNRI, where Laurel was reading an article on Oliver opening a club. She was so engrossed that she didn't hear Joanna approach._

_"Hey. Do you have the depos on the Jergens case?" her friend asked. Laurel frantically tried to close the article, but not before Joanna got a glimpse._

_"Yeah, they're around here somewhere." She dug around her desk. She didn't miss the look Joanna sent her. "I was just surfing the 'net." She said defensively._  
  
"And unlike him, you do not Ms. Lance," Slade added a moment later. The girl was an optimist, someone who looked for the best in people, and tried to make the world a better place. To Slade, the girl needed a few days on the island to get a change of perspective- that the world was a cruel and lawless place, and the only way to survive was to be the predator. 

_"Really?"_

_Laurel sighed and looked to her friend. "Joanna, I'm over him." Another look. "And you don't believe me."_

_"Well, I would have if I wouldn't have just caught you trolling for articles on him!" Joanna shot back._

_"I wasn't trolling!" Laurel shot back, exasperated._

_"I don't want to have to be the one to remind you that he cheated on you, Laurel. With your sister."_

_"I appreciate your self-control." Laurel said dryly._

_"You're stuck in the past." Joanna advised. "And the reason I know this is the fact that the only physical relationship you've had since Oliver is with his best friend. It is time to move on." She decided. "It is past time."_

"Hey," Tommy said sounding offended to which Laurel tried her hardest not to laugh. She couldn't believe how hard she was trying in these memories to not look interested in Oliver, yet utterly failing at every turn.

Thea scowled as she watched the interactions between Laurel and Merlyn. They were making goo-goo eyes at each other in her mind, and to the youngest Queen, she didn't understand why Tommy would want a girl so hung up on her brother. Smiling sweetly, Thea interrupted the two lovebirds, "She is, sort of, right Laurel." 

In her ear pierce, the elder Thea heard Roy groan, and she could bet Laurel's face looked as though she had just sucked on a lemon. "That is something they should probably learn sooner rather than later," he said. "Unless you want your younger self jumping your half brother."

"I," Artemis began with the intent of defending herself, but then she stopped. "Yeah you're right. I probably would." She placed that on her list to tell the group the next chance she got, but she had to do it carefully. Her younger self wasn't going to take it well no matter what, but Artemis didn't want to start another fight if it could be avoided.   
_  
"I've been busy." Laurel hedged. "I work a lot."_

_"Ok. That's got to stop." Joanna decided. "So we are going out tonight. And we are going to have some shots, and we are going to dance with men that we don't know, and we are going to stay out way too late." She plucked a folder off Laurel's desk. "Oh!" she exclaimed wryly. "Jergens depos."_

_"I really don't think I can go out tonight." Laurel tried. Joanna just gave her a smile._

_"It is adorable that you actually think I'm giving you a choice." She said, walking away._  
  
"I like her," Tommy grinned referring to Joanna, but Laurel glowered at him for it. 

_The scene shifted back to Queen Manor, where Thea was getting dressed for school. She was putting her tie on when Moira walked into her room._

_"I want you to come home right after school." She said._

_"Oh, can't." The said absently, checking her appearance in the mirror. "Margot and I are going to go to the mall."_

_"What, more shopping?" Moira asked rhetorically. "Tell Margot you'll have to cancel. You're grounded for two weeks."_

_"Grounded?" Thea looked at her mother, incredulous. "I've never been grounded."_

"And I can tell you young lady that when we get back, you will become accustomed to it," Moira threatened.

"Oliver comes home and shoots people with arrows, and I'm the one that gets grounded?" Thea asked aghast. 

"Well once I arrest Oliver, he'll be grounded to a prison cell," Quentin offered helpfully. 

Moira glared and continued blatantly ignoring the detective, "Unlike him, I do believe I could lock you in your room and you won't find a way out."

Artemis shook her head at the memories of how many times she actually did, in fact, scale out her window. One time, she had almost broken her ankle and had to pretend for a week that she sprained her ankle due to high heels. Her mother doubted her younger self's resolve to rebel, and it was a breath of fresh air to hear her mother's voice again after all these years… even if it was her character being torn apart verbally.

_"Well, you've never committed larceny before." Moira replied pointedly._

_"Since when do you care?" Thea demanded._

_"I've always cared." Moira replied defensively. "I'm your mother."_

_"Look, we've had a good thing going on the last five years." Thea said, annoyed. "Why mess with that now?"_

_Moira walked further into the room, right up to Thea. "No, we are paying off store owners to keep your record clean, so clearly, it hasn't been working."_

_"And you're going to teach me." Thea scoffed, her arms crossed. "It's Oliver, isn't it? His judgmental hypocrisy is rubbing off on you."_

_"No, I don't need Oliver to teach me how to parent you." Moira shot back. "You'll be home by 4:00."_

"Apparently you did since you only changed what you were doing once he came home," Thea scoffed. 

Unable to deal with her own younger self, the elder Thea crossed the room in a few steps and towered over her younger self. Tommy and Laurel scooted away as Thea looked up at Artemis. "She's your mother. Show her some respect." After all, who knew how long one had left with a parent, but Artemis couldn't just say that. It would reveal too much too quickly.

Moira looked over in shock at the fact the masked archer was disciplining her daughter. With a concealed growl, "Do not dare to threaten my daughter." The younger Thea glanced over, a look of relief on her face to see her mother coming to her defense. 

Malcolm grasped the end of the couch, ready if needed, to jump up. Thus far, this League was far different from the other League that he knew of, but that didn't mean that the ones up here wouldn't resort to violence. While he didn't want to reveal himself or his skills, he was prepared to step in. Even after all these years, he harbored a deep seated care for Moira and in turn Thea, especially after he had ripped Robert away from them. 

"I didn't," Artemis stated.

"I'm sure if she had, we'd all know it," Slade smirked remembering her all too clear threat from earlier. 

_"Or what?" the asked snidely. "You're going to call the cops on me?" She walked past her mom, grabbing her purse on the way out of the room. "Tell them I say hi." Moira looked on, exasperated._

_The scene shifted to Holder's penthouse. On the ground, Oliver was surveying the area, thinking back to the night he was shot. He looked up at the penthouse, then over to where he believed the shots came from. Three shots were fired at him- one hit his arm, one hit a retaining wall, but one overshot the building. He followed where he thought the trajectory carried the slug. Spotting something far up on one building's outer wall, he leaped into action- literally. Applying his parkour skills, he scaled the wall. Approaching the bullet hole, he pulled out his knife and carefully extracted the bullet._

"And now… he's spiderman," Tommy said slowly, his eyes still glued to the masked archer even as she retreated to her corner. As he turned back to the television, he caught his father relaxing, and their eyes met for a brief second. In his father's eyes, Tommy noticed a dark gleam he hadn't seen there prior to this day. Malcolm was cold but not dangerous, at least in Tommy's opinion.

_Back at SCPD headquarters, Quentin was looking over the crime scene photos when Hilton approached._

_"Got ballistics back on the Holder murder." He announced. "They pulled two 7.62 millimeter bullets out of him. According to the stippling and size of the entry wound, they estimate the shots were fired from approximately a hundred yards away."_

_"A hundred yards?" Lance repeated. "What, so the hood shoots him from another building, goes over to his place, he takes out his security, and then he fires off a few arrows?"_

Laurel smiled at the sight of her father not immediately blaming the Hood for another murder. Other cops or detectives probably should, but her father cared about justice. He wouldn't blame someone, even if they were far from innocent, of a murder they didn't commit. 

_"And according to his tox screen, his blood contained high concentrations of strychnos toxifera."_

_"- What?" Lance asked, his look saying 'speak English.'_

_" - Curare." Hilton clarified. It's a kind of poison."_

_"Oh." Lance said dryly. "Ok, so now we switch from arrows to sniper bullets and poison." He shook his head. "I'm not buying it."_

_"We still found arrows on the scene." Hilton said, clinging to his theory. "Solid evidence the Hood was there." Lance got up and started walking out. "Where you going?" he asked tiredly._

_"I'm going to get my own evidence." Lance said, walking out. Hilton sighed and dropped the folder onto Lance's desk._

"So defending the Hood now?" Laurel teased in an attempt to get a rise out of her father.

"He's still a murdering sociopath," the Detective huffed trying not to give Laurel that pleasure. 

_The scene shifted to the Foundry, where Oliver was running his own ballistics on the round he pulled from the wall._

_'7.62 millimeter rounds.' His voice said as he stared at his computers. 'The money trail leads back to the Bratva- the Russian mob. Finally some good luck.'_

Quentin's mouth hung open in utter disbelief, and Moira was trembling. She couldn't even think that her son would find a link to the Russian mob good, and that terrified her to think just what other things Oliver was involved with.

"What other laws can he find to break to upset my dad?" Laurel muttered to herself.

Slade reminisced that man from the Amazo again and wondered if this was how Oliver discovered the Russian mob. He hoped that the mob would teach the kid a few things about respect since they wouldn't take to being shot at with arrows well.

_The scene changed again, and now Oliver was walking into a Russian auto repair shop. He approached two men working on an old Mustang._

_"Ya ishchu Aleksi Lenonov." He stated in flawless Russian._

_The elder of the two, a bald, rough-looking Russian turned to stare at Oliver. "There's no one here by that name." he responded after a moment._

_Oliver shook his head and moved in closer. "Ne v vashem garazhe." He said. "V podvale pod." The bald man indicated to his compatriot, who mace out from underneath the car and pulled a gun. As he brought it up, Oliver deftly disarmed the man, sending him to his knees with one hand as he pulled the gun out and disassembled it. He then pulled down the collar of his shirt, exposing the tattoo on his chest._

_"Ya Bratva." He announced. He allowed the second man to get up, and he moved behind the bald man._

_"Ya khochu videt' Alexi Lenonov." Oliver demanded again._

_The bald man moved to Oliver and offered a short bow. "Pleased to meet you." He said in English. Oliver nodded in return._

_Soon, they were walking through a door and down a set of stairs to the basement, the headquarters for the Starling City branch of the Bratva._

_"I apologize." Alexi was saying. "We meant no disrespect to a Captain. Particularly an American one."_

"He's in the Russian mob?" Quentin cried out, hands thrown up in a mixture of disgust and incredulity. 

"Oh Ollie," Laurel whispered.

Excluding Slade, while everyone else was taken back, Malcolm was doing his best to hide his smirk. Somehow, Oliver found a way to surprise him yet again. How in the world the younger Queen scion had managed to find a way into the mob during his five years away and found a way to a Captain level… The List contained so few of the Russian mob because it was near impossible to leverage against them without risking not only one's life but a family's life. This was practically decided now- Malcolm would find a way to manipulate the other archer into helping. The link to the Russian mob, the archery skills, and the cold hearted steel in his veins that wanted nothing more than justice? Malcolm could use Oliver Queen, and the boy didn't even have to know. There were ways to ensure that and to keep Moira from knowing what he had planned. If it worked out, then Malcolm could work slowly to bring Oliver into the fold and his secret… Yes, Malcolm could see a great future if him and Oliver worked together. 

_He stopped at a table and began pouring two shots of vodka. "So, how can I be of assistance?"_

_"I'm in the market for a hired gun." Oliver stated. "Someone the organization's used before. His calling card is a 7.62 millimeter gun laced with curare."_

_Alexi shook his head. "I know no man who uses such tools."_

_"But you can find out who does." Oliver countered. Alexi handed him his shot._

_"First, we will drink to each other's health, then I will look into the identity of this man you seek." The two drank._

_"Ahh." He said as the alcohol went down. "I will also confirm that you are really Bratva captain." He said, smiling. "Should this not be the case, I will send my mechanic here to find you and kill you and your family." He indicated the second man, who had taken position on the second flight of stairs. Oliver stared at the two men for a moment, then left._

"For once, I hope he's telling the truth," the detective said, nervous for the Queen family. The Russian mob was not something to trivialize.

"Even if the mechanic tried, I am sure, Detective, that Oliver would easily dispatch him," Malcolm added. Then, there was the fact Malcolm would also be on the grounds with his own gear if that happened. Glancing towards Moira, Malcolm didn't need to say this for her to understand just that. 

While Moira was far from a fan of Malcolm's enforcer, it helped to ease her nerves knowing that if the Russian mob came after her and her family, the archer would be there to help fend them off. 

_As he walked out of the shot, he caught the end of a news broadcast._

_'Carl Rasmussen was found shot to death in his home earlier this evening.' The reporter was saying on the television. 'The police will not comment if there's a connection between Mr. Rasmussen's death and the murder of James Holder a few nights ago. Mr. Rasmussen leaves behind a wife and three children.'_

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Detectives Lance and Hilton were talking with Walter and Moira._

_"It's a great loss." Walter was saying. "Carl was a titan."_

_"A titan who was looking to buy out a company called Unidac Industries?" Hilton observed, looking at his notes._

_"Well, Industries are something of a misnomer." Walter explained. "UI's recent activity was actually looking into alternative energy."_

_"I think the point my partner is trying to make is that Carl Rasmussen was the second bidder this week to lose his life." Lance cut in._

_"Are you implying something, Detective?" Moira asked archly._

_"Well, only that your husband's looking into buying Unidac Industries and the competition seems to be dropping like flies." Lance pointed out._

"I would never hire a gun to take out the competition," Moira hissed.

"Dad," Laurel even growled flabbergasted. 

"It's not my fault if that's how the chips come to lay," he said defending himself. 

Laurel did not let him get off so easily though as she crossed her arms and met him in a stare. "And it has nothing to do with the fact you hate Oliver?"

Quentin pointed to the screen, "For good reason. He shoots people with arrows!"

Tommy couldn't argue with that except, "But you don't know that yet… well that you." He said referring to the Quentin in the memories. 

_"And I'm sure your veiled accusation has nothing to do with how you feel about my family?" Moira shot back, annoyed._

Laurel gave her father a knowing look. "Can you be any more obvious about your dislike of Ollie?"

"I haven't arrested him yet have I?" Quentin said as if that was a good cover of his character. 

"You'd arrest my brother for jaywalking if the opportunity presented itself," Thea added. He was her brother, and she'd defend him though she wasn't sure she agreed with his methods just yet. She hadn't seen if what he was doing was actually helping or hurting yet. 

_"Unidac's in receivership, Detective." Walter cut in before things got heated. "Ownership is subject to a liquidation auction, so that means there are many prospective buyers. And the auction's tomorrow, so if I was taking out the competition, I have a lot of killing to do in a very short amount of time." He finished, dryly._

_"We're just making the rounds with the interested buyers." Hilton put in, trying to diffuse the tension. "Let them know to be careful."_

Malcolm made a note to check on this 'Deadshot' when he returned to his time. It didn't sound like something he would do- take out the competition with an unknown gun, not when he could do it himself or use one of his own men. Still, he didn't like an unknown player threatening his Undertaking plans. 

_"Oh, yes. And I'm overwhelmed that Detective Lance is concerned for our safety." Moira said sarcastically._

_"Well, thank you for your concern, gentlemen." Walter said. He nodded towards Diggle, who stood in the doorway. "Our security consultant, Mr. Diggle, is taking all the necessary precautions."_

_"Yeah. Right." Lance slapped his knees and rose. "Well, if you need us," he said as he and Hilton started to leave "we're just a 911 call away." Moira shook her head in exasperation as the cops left._

_The scene shifted to outside the club Poison. Tommy and Oliver, followed by Diggle, made their way to the head of the line. The bouncer undid the chain and let them through at once._

"I like that club," Thea grinned to which Tommy and Laurel eyed up the younger Queen.

"That club is twenty-one and over only Thea," Tommy said slowly, but he already knew about her fake ID. He had seen it on a few occasions, and he silently cursed himself for not taking it away from her each time.

"Oh like you and my brother didn't do worse at my age," Thea scoffed to Moira and Malcolm's great displeasure.

"The difference is Thea I had your brother with me," Tommy pointed out.

"Not like he could fight back then," Thea argued.

Tommy sighed seeing she missed the point. Laurel stepped in gently. "It's more that you have someone in general to be with you."

"I bring my friends when I go," Thea said with a roll of her eyes.

"I think I know why I'll still be hiring Mr. Diggle when we return," Moira said, sending a shiver down Thea's spine. She couldn't imagine her life with a babysitter, especially one she wouldn't be able to slip.

_"Ha ha ha! Oh, my, this is going to be killer." Tommy exclaimed._

_"If Max never sees me here, I agree." Oliver pointed out. Tommy just clapped him on the shoulder._

_"Ah, if you want to run a business, you've got to take a few risks."_

_The bouncer closed the chain just as Diggle came up. He stared at the bodyguard impassively._

_"I don't see your name on the list." He stated._

_"Mr. Queen." Dig called out. Oliver spun around and headed back. He patted the bouncer on the shoulder. "Oh!" he said jovially, pointing at Dig. "I have never seen this guy before in my life. Ever." He gave Dig a wink and headed back inside with a laughing Tommy. Diggle just sighed._  
  
"At least that is like Oliver," Tommy sighed happy to see something that resembled his friend under the mask of lies and new persona. It was a lot to wrap his mind around, so he hoped silently that they'd be taking a break soon. He needed time to digest all of this and what he was seeing. 

_The two men walked in to the club and looked around. It was dim and loud with the sounds of music and laughter. They watched the ladies dance, then as one headed towards the bar. Tommy spotted her first._

_"Oh, wow!" he exclaimed "Doesn't you going out and having fun violate some kind of law, you know, like the ones that are carved on a stone tablet?"_

_"Does it?" Tommy asked cheekily to which Laurel gave him a look and a shove._

_"I do know how to have fun."_  
  
"Yeah," Thea said, "paperwork isn't fun to most people."

Slade had begun to look around the room for a weapon of sorts; the constant complaining from the three families were raking his nerves. For once, he didn't even have Shado around to comfort him, and while he recognized that his plan would work best with everyone alive for Oliver's return, he figured he could take out a few of them with no consequence. Perhaps the Detective… and if possible the elder Merlyn. That man posed a threat to Slade, and the mercenary could blatantly see it. 

_Laurel gave him a look. "That's cute, Tommy."_

_"Thanks."_

_"I can see you two are up to your old hunting patterns." She noted wryly, eyeing Oliver._

_"Just seeing what passes for fun in Starling City after five years." the former castaway said_

_"Ah. Well, I'm sure you'll find that it just hasn't been the same without you."_

_The three were spared further conversation as a very drunk Thea stumbled up to Oliver._

_"Big brother!" she exclaimed. "Oh! I am so wasted right now. There is… there is two of you." She finished, waving a finger between the real and imaginary Oliver. Her brother looked back at her sternly._

"See grounding doesn't work," Thea said trying to pull the attention off the fact she was drunk. "You just shouldn't try it."

"You're right," Moira agreed, but that didn't ease Thea's concerns. "Perhaps I should find a way to get you under house arrest."

Seeing how similar Sara and Thea were at times, Quentin offered, "I can probably help with that." He wasn't willing to see Thea throw her life away as her brother seemed to want to. Being a vigilante only ended one way, and while Artemis said Oliver was alive and earth-side, he wasn't sure he believed it. There had to be a reason they were brought here after all. 

_"I thought you were grounded." He stated. Tommy and Laurel both turned back to the bar, suddenly very uncomfortable._

_"I am." She crossed her arms. "And thank you for that, by the way."_

_Oliver stepped in closer, glaring at his sister. "You're done for the night."_

_"Oh, what are you going to do?" she asked defiantly. "Tell mom?"_

_"Thea!" he exclaimed, but reigned in his emotions. "You are hanging with the wrong people." He tried._

_"You're one to talk." She looked over to Tommy and Laurel with an evil glare. "How much do you know about your own so-called friends over here?"_

Thea's face drained of blood, more so then it had when Detective Lance had offered to help. She turned to Laurel and Tommy. "I'm so sorry… in advance. I'm…"

"Thea," Laurel said with a tight smile and sadness in her eyes. "It's fine."

_"Ok Thea, maybe you should-" Tommy started, but Thea cut him off. "Tommy I think your BFF has a right to know." She said snidely._

_"Thea, let's go." Oliver tried to lead her away, but she was having none of it._

_"Well, I guess they never told you that they've been screwing while you were gone." She shot the two a satisfied look as Laurel and Tommy suddenly found it hard to look at Oliver. Oliver, meanwhile, never looked away from Thea. There wasn't an ounce of shock on his face._

_"Look, man, I-" Tommy started to say, but Oliver cut him off._

_"Tommy," he said softly, looking at his friend. Tommy looked back uncertainly. "It's ok." He said earnestly._

"He took that surprisngly well," Tommy noted.

Laurel sighed and nodded. She had worried for a moment how Oliver would deal with the fact she hadn't waited around for five years. 

"He already knew," Malcolm said, pulling Laurel and Tommy's attention towards him. The older archer had seen the emotions play on Oliver's face or lack thereof. 

Laurel paused for a moment and reconsidered what she had just seen, and she had to agree. Oliver hadn't even blinked when Thea had thrown that in his face; somehow, he had already figured it out. Which to her was perfectly fine as she didn't need his permission; nonetheless, she was glad he didn't seem bothered. After seeing what she had thus far, she didn't want to add to what other emotional baggage he seemed to be carrying. 

Slade wished it had effected the kid; he wouldn't mind seeing Oliver squirm a bit knowing the woman he pinned over for years had gone and screwed his best friend. The irony wasn't lost on Slade since Oliver had done practically the same thing to him; the only difference being the kid's actions led to Shado being killed. He wondered how long before Oliver got this girl killed, or if the mercenary himself would take her life for Oliver's actions. 

_Oliver turned back to Thea, anger evident on his face. "You and me, we're done for the night." He grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards the door._

_"Take your hands off of me!" she yelled, yanking her hand free. "You're not my father." She hissed. "And you're barely my brother." She stalked off, leaving an angry Oliver behind._

Thea's face fell. She hadn't meant that, she would never mean something like that- at least this her wouldn't. Tommy squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "He knows that you're, well…"

"Drunk," Thea finished, her voice catching as she swallowed down some tears. "And didn't mean it? I'm pretty sure that in this memory I did." 

Laurel gave Thea a smile as well. "Your brother loves you," she said. "He knows." 

Nodding, Thea wiped her eyes and thanked both of them. Chancing a glance, she saw her mom was also giving her a smile. For a moment, Thea considered moving back to sit with her mom, but she reminded herself that she was still angry over the fact her mom had Oliver kidnapped. Thus, she steeled, pulled herself back together, and went back to watching the memory.

_"Well, well… look at this." A voice said from behind him. "Oliver Queen."_

Tommy and Laurel groaned. "What did you expect playing with fire?" Laurel asked when she realized that this was not going to end well.

_Oliver turned to see "Max Fuller." He said, eyeing the two bodyguards that flanked the man. "How've you been?"_

_"Happy you drowned."_

Even Quentin scowled. Slade was glad Oliver hadn't drowned; one couldn't take revenge against a dead man. Living in agony with no family, friends, or the love of his life was a much better fate.

_Oliver was led to a curtained off area. He knew what was coming, but he tried to reason with the man. "Hey, Max-" he started, but was thrown to the floor by a punch from the club owner. He forced himself not to react._

"Good control," Malcolm said. Slade disliked it, but he had to agree. The Oliver he remembered from the island wouldn't have been able to help himself.

"The Oliver we knew would have decked Max," Laurel added. Tommy tried not to throw up his hands in frustration- his father and the girl he wanted applauded Oliver when he killed people and applauded him when he didn't. There was no winning.

_"Get him up!" Max yelled to his bouncers, who roughly pulled him to his feet._

_"Hey, let him go, let him go!" Tommy yelled, rushing into the area and putting himself between Oliver and the goons. "Hey, I said let him go!"_

_"Told you he was going to be pissed." Oliver said quietly._

_"Back off, Merlyn." Max said. "This isn't your problem."_

_"You want to get to him? You've got to go through me." Tommy eyed the goons as they grinned to one another, and then looked over his shoulder at Oliver. "Wow, they are probably going to get through me." Without another thought, Tommy threw the first punch, knocking one of the bouncers back._  
  
"Tommy," Malcolm stated, and the younger Merlyn tried not to think what his father would say. However when he turned to look at the man all he received was a nod. Tommy couldn't believe it; that was probably one of the few times he had ever gotten his father's approval on anything. Malcolm, on the other hand, was torn over being proud of his son for standing up for something and wondering about his son's intellect. The boy had never been trained to fight, and they would be outmatched unless Oliver was willing to show off, and Malcolm highly doubted the younger archer would. Nevertheless, he gave his son a nod since it was a step in a direction- farther than Tommy had gone thus far. 

_Oliver went after the other, even as he tried to keep his true skills hidden. Holding back, the fight soon turned in Fuller's bouncers' favor, with Tommy and Oliver on the floor. Max stood back at the curtain, a satisfied smile on his face-_

_At least until Laurel came in, hitting him several times in the kidneys, and then kicking the back of his knee out. She spun him, then flipped him onto the ground hard. The bouncers stopped and looked back at the brunette._  
  
"I'm glad to see those self-defense lessons were worth it," Quentin noted. "But do you think you could have waited a bit longer to let them get a few more hits in on Queen?" At Laurel's incredulous look, he held up his hands innocently.

_"So is this over, Max?" she asked harshly. "Or are you going to have your boy's pound on me next?"_

_Max ungracefully stumbled to his feet. He glared at the three. "You three consider yourselves banned for life." She snarled. "Get the hell out of my place!"_

_"Your club sucks anyway." Tommy shot back._

"I never liked that place much anyway," Tommy said in response. There were other and better clubs he could easily get into. 

_"You guys ok?" Laurel asked. Oliver looked at his ex._

_"Where'd you learn to do that?"_

_"Cop dad, remember? He made me take self-defense classes."_

_"Laurel," he started, "What Thea said-_

_"Oliver, Tommy and I don't need your blessing." She pointed out. "And I don't need your forgiveness."_

Laurel hid her face against one of her hands. One moment she thought her other self was doing better, and the next she found a way to shove her foot back into her mouth. Above her doing the exact same thing was the elder Laurel. Roy snickered as the Canary groaned having completely forgotten about that event in the club all those years ago.

"What's it like seeing him again?" Roy asked, obviously referring to Tommy.

With a sad smile, Laurel commented, "Like I never forgot him." While she loved her husband, she had mornings where she would wake up and wonder the 'what if'. She missed both Tommy and Sara desperately, and just seeing Tommy again gave her the hope that the elder Thea was right… that they could, in fact, fix this. 

_The scene flashed back to the cave. Oliver slowly came back to consciousness. Glancing around, he saw the Asian man sound asleep. Quietly he got to his feet and swiftly made his way out of the cave. Once outside, he ran through the forest. He paused a moment to catch his breath, then started moving again- only to be ensnared in a net, which dragged him up five feet into the air._

"He made a trap to catch Oliver?" Tommy asked concerned for Ollie.

"You have already seen one other person on the island," Slade said, "do you think it's completely deserted?"

"Well, I…" Tommy started.

Slade sneered, "How else do you think he got those scars?"

Moira gasped as she realized who this Slade man was. "You were on the island with Oliver."

"I was Mrs. Queen," he grinned. "And I was one of the ones to inflict those scars on him."

Malcolm was practically fed up with the mercenary and to know that this man tortured his best friend's son, he was tempted to reveal himself. Killing Robert had dealt a blow to Malcolm, but to think he had also killed Oliver had been worse. He didn't care at the moment that Oliver was the vigilante; he just saw the mercenary twisting an emotional knife into Moira.

"Don't even," Artemis growled, her bow raised not in Slade's direction but Malcolm's. The archer eyed the arrow and relaxed. So at some point his secret came out; otherwise Artemis wouldn't have known to threaten him. "And you," she said spinning towards Slade. "Enough."

Slade grinned but didn't push his luck.

_Back in the present, Diggle was leading Tommy and Oliver into Big Belly Burger. He waved at a cute woman behind the counter, who waved back. "Why don't you guys take a seat, and I will grab a couple of burgers and some ice for those faces."_

_Tommy smiled at the woman. "The girl's pretty cute." He said casually._

_"That's my sister in law." Diggle said, a steely glare at the younger man._

_"-Who I will never speak to or look at." Tommy replied at once. "Ever. Gonna grab a booth." Tommy headed to the back of the restaurant._

_"She's not wearing a wedding ring." Oliver noticed. "Brother out of the picture?"_

_"Yeah, you could say that." He replied. Oliver headed back to Tommy, while Dig headed over to Carly. "Hey you." He said._

_"So sweet of you to adopt two white boys." Carly joked, leaning up against the counter. "They need a good role model."_

_"That's my client Oliver Queen." He explained. They watched the batted young man drop painfully into the booth._

_"Looks like you're doing a bang up job protecting him." She remarked._

_"Mmm." Dig agreed._  
  
"I really need to be careful who I flirt with," Tommy commented to which the younger Thea saw as an opening. She moved in to say something when Artemis interrupted the moment.

"Yes you do," she replied to everyone's confusion. 

_At the booth, Tommy was working up his courage. "Look, man about Laurel." He started. "I was going to tell you. I was just trying to figure out the right way."_

_"To tell somebody that you slept with their girlfriend after they went missing and were then presumed dead." He replied seriously, and then gave a small smile. "What, there's no greeting card for that?" he joked. The two laughed._

_"Look it was wrong." Tommy said, seriously. "And I'm sorry."_

_"Tommy." Oliver started quietly. "I was dead."_

_"No, man, you were with Laurel." Tommy replied, cutting him off. "And whether you were dead, or as it turns out, alive on a deserted island, you are my friend. And me being with Laurel violated that friendship in about 50 different ways."_

_"Thank you." Oliver said earnestly. "But it's ok."_

"We are grownups Tommy," Laurel said in response.

"He's still my best friend," he sighed. "It was wrong."

"And now?" Laurel questioned, and Tommy couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"He's given us permission… or will," Tommy finished. 

_Back at the counter, Carly was still talking to Diggle. "How dangerous is this gig, anyway?" she asked, concerned._

_"It's a cakewalk, Carla, don't worry." He assured her._

_"Too late." She said. "Or have you forgotten this job got your brother killed? Because, Dig, I haven't. I can't." she walked away._

_"You are being really chill about this." Tommy remarked to Oliver back at the booth. Before he could reply, his phone rang. He pulled it out._

_"Hello?" he said, then spoke in Russian. He held the phone to his chest and looked to Tommy. "It's a Russian model calling me." He explained with a smile. "Can we- can I have a minute, please?"_

_Tommy laughed lightly as he got up out of the booth. "I can see now why you were able to be so chill." He remarked. "Enjoy."_

_"So I checked out?" he said._

_"You did." Alexi replied. "His name is Floyd Lawton. I have address where he stayed last time he was in Starling City. But that is all."_

Moira let out the breath she had been holding. She should have known not to doubt Oliver, but while she could see her son could hold his own, she had to worry about Thea's life. Her daughter didn't know how to fight or defend herself if necessary. As such, it was Moira's job to keep Thea safe… from everyone, including Malcolm and his plans. 

_"Let's hope he's a creature of habit." Oliver replied. "Go."_

_"1700 Broadway Pell Hotel, room 52." Alexi replied. "You'll leave us out of this, yes? Assuming Mr. Lawton doesn't kill you first." Oliver hung up._

_The scene changed to Oliver standing outside room 52. He kicked the door open and fired an arrow, narrowly missing Lawton as he dived off the chair and behind his bed. He came up, right arm extended and sprayed the doorway with bullets from a wrist-mounted fully automatic submachine gun. Oliver ducked back outside, and waited for him to reload. As Lawton changed clips he got two more arrows off, but Lawton propped up the mattress, blocking them. He sprayed bullets once more, then jumped out the window behind him. Oliver rushed into the room and looked out the window, but there was no sign of him. As police sirens got closer, Oliver grabbed the damaged remains of Lawton's laptop and ran out._

Malcolm shook his head. 'Sloppy,' he couldn't help but think. One clean, precise arrow would have finished that; instead, Oliver had announced himself too blatantly by kicking in the door. Apparently, the other archer needed some work on his entrances and how to do things quietly. Malcolm wondered briefly if he could help Oliver with that… once the Queen scion saw the Undertaking as a necessary step, of course.

_The scene shifted to the next day at Queen Consolidated, as Oliver made his way through the I.T. department, stopping in front of a particular cubicle._

_"Ahem." He cleared his throat, getting the blonde woman's attention. "Felicity Smoak?" he asked, smiling. "Hi. I'm Oliver Queen."_

_"Of course." She said, surprised. "I know who you are, you're Mr. Queen."_

_"No, Mr. Queen was my father." He stated with a smile._

_"Right, but he's dead." She shook her head, embarrassed. "I mean, he drowned." She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. "But you didn't, which means you could come down to the I.T. department and listen to me babble. Which will end." She slowly rotated away from Oliver. "In 3… 2… 1…" she turned back._

"Who's that?" Thea asked, cocking her head. Amusement danced across her features. She didn't know who this Felicity was, but she already liked her.

In Artemis's ear, Roy asked, "When was the last time you spoke to Felicity?"

Artemis shook her head and frowned, "Not since she told me never to contact her again." 

_"I'm having some trouble with my computer and they told me that you were the person to come and see." He said, laying Floyd Lawton's laptop down on her desk. "I was at my coffee shop surfing the web and I spilled a latte on it." He lied. Poorly._  
  
"With everyone else, he lies perfectly but here and with Mr. Diggle, he struggles," Laurel noted, something Malcolm had already keyed into.

"Maybe it's some of the old Oliver shining through?" Thea suggested which everyone but Malcolm and Slade could accept. They both knew better from experience, and they both suspected Oliver was doing this on purpose… to what end though? Neither were sure yet. 

_Felicity looked at him. "Really?"_

_"Yeah."_

_She ran her hand over the casing. "'Cause these look like bullet holes."_

_"My coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood." He added smoothly._

_She tilted her head and gave him a look that said 'Really?' Oliver smiled down at her. "If there is anything that you can salvage from it, I would really appreciate it." He said in a hopeful tone. Felicity gave him one last look, then shrugged and picked up the laptop._

_Back at Queen Manor, Thea was in her room, texting on her phone. Moira walked in, and momentarily was shocked that Thea was home._

_"Oh." She exclaimed pleasantly. "Well, good, you're here."_

_"I'm under house arrest, remember." Thea shot back, not looking up from her phone._

_Moira held up two dresses. "Do you want to wear the Calvin Klein or the Zac Posen?" she asked. Thea looked up._

_"For dinner?" she said, confused. "I was just going to wear pajamas."_

_"To Walter's stock auction." Moira explained._

_Thea groaned and looked back to her phone. "I think I'd rather be grounded."_

_"No, it's important that you come." Moira pressed on._

_"Important to whom?"_

_"To me." Moira insisted. Thea looked up at her incredulously, and then turned back to her phone. Moira sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, putting a hand on Thea's arm. "All right, listen to me. When you were four years old, you came home one day with a cat. It was a stray, it was filthy, and it was mean. But you stood there and you declared that it was coming to live with us. Your father came home from the office and he saw what was going on, and he sat you down and he explained to you that the cat was in fact a tiger and that we needed to get it home. And somehow you understood." Thea smiled slightly at the memory. "Robert was always so good at getting through to you." She continued. "I… I was always so jealous of that." She admitted._

Suddenly, Thea felt bad for how she was treating her mother. It couldn't have been easy on her Thea realized either. She shot a glance over to Moira and mouthed, 'I'm sorry.' In turn, her mother smiled and responded, 'I know.' Together, they shared a brief smile before turning their attentions back to the television.

_The two were silent for a moment. Thea's eyes were wet with unshed tears. Finally, Thea spoke. "You never talk about him." She stated. "Dad. That's the first time you've talked about him in years."_

_"Well, I think you and I have gotten into some bad habits." Moira finally said. "There's been a lot that has changed recently, Thea, and I think that maybe this can change, too." She patted Thea's arm and rose from the bed, leaving Thea to think._

_Back at Queen Consolidated, Felicity was working her magic on the laptop. She managed to pull up several image files._

_"It looks like blueprints." She said._

_"Do you know what of?" Oliver asked._

_"The Exchange Building."_

_"Never heard of it."_

_"It's where the Unidac industry's auction is scheduled to take place." Felicity explained. At his look, she pressed, "I thought you said that was your laptop."_

Malcolm shifted in his seat next to Moira. When she glanced over at him, he leaned in to whisper, "Why would an assassin have blueprints of the exchange building unless he was planning to use them?"

Her mouth formed an O on that realization, and fear gripped her heart. She prayed Thea stayed home and far from the danger. "Don't worry," he continued, "I'll send him to deal with this." Malcolm realized that this night would be a good night for his enforcer to show up. Oliver would just have to deal with some unknown back-up.

_"Yes." Oliver stated._

_Felicity sighed. "Look, I don't want to get in the middle of some Shakespearian family drama thing."_

_Oliver's eye flickered rapidly between the computer and Felicity. Confusion played across his face. "What?"_

_"Mr. Steele marrying your mom." She explained. "Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet?"_

_"I didn't study Shakespeare at any of the four schools that I dropped out of." Oliver said bluntly._

_"Mr. Steele is trying to buy Unidac Industries." lay out plainly. "And you've got a company laptop associated with one of the guys he's competing against."_

_Oliver nodded. "Floyd Lawton."_

_"No" Felicity interjected, "Warren Patel." She looked at him. "Who's Floyd Lawton?"_

_"He is an employee of Mr. Patel, evidently." Oliver explained lamely._

"Do you rich people have nothing else better to do other than kill each other?" Detective Lance asked, thrown by all this drama he would have never keyed into prior to this.

Moira shifted at his words and tried not to dwell on the fact that the man sitting next to her had Robert killed and almost killed her son. She would continue to play her part as necessary if only to protect Thea at this point. 

_'The Exchange Building is surrounded by 3 towers with eye lines into the building.' Oliver's voice said as he stared at the blueprints. 'Lawton could get a kill shot off from virtually anywhere. But I can't cover the area. I can't protect all of Deadshot's targets. I can't do this alone.'_

For a moment, Malcolm considered if this was why Oliver had been lying so poorly to Mr. Diggle until the memory shifted.

_The scene shifted to outside the SCPD headquarters later that night, where Lance was walking to his car. He was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind and slammed into the hood of a cruiser. Looking back, grunting in pain, he saw The Hood pinning him down, holding one arm back in a vice-like grip, preventing him from getting up._  
  
"That bastard!" the Detective cried. "In front of the police station."

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. Dropping bodies to him wasn't amusing but seeing Detective Lance so flustered was.

_"Ah, you son of a bitch!" he started._

_"Detective, quiet!" The Hood whispered._

_"You've got a pair on you, pulling this right outside the police station!" Lance snarled._

_"Floyd Lawton's the one targeting the buyers interested in Unidac Industries. Interpol calls him 'Deadshot' because he never misses. You can look this up after I go." The Hood told the detective._

_"Yeah, and stop chasing you, I suppose?" he grunted as The Hood cranked back on his arm slightly._

_"Warren Patel hired Lawton." He continued. "I can't be sure who they're targeting, it might be all the buyers, and I can't protect them in a space that big. I need your help." He pleaded._

_"Yeah? Professional help." Lance scoffed._  
  
"He's trying to help keep people alive and you're cracking jokes?" Moira frowned. "My daughter might be there, my husband will be."

Detective Lance looked embarrassed rightly so. He was letting his anger at the Hood keep him from protecting people in this instance, and he always prided himself on justice up until now. 

_"Lawton laces his bullets with curare. Tell your men to wear Kevlar." The Hood finished._

_"I'll tell them to shoot you-" he gasped as an arrow was driven into the hood of the car right next to his head. Suddenly the pressure on his arm was gone, and he shot up and looked around- but The Hood was gone. Looking back at the hood, he noticed the laptop for the first time._  
  
"Now he gives us evidence," but Quentin didn't say this sarcastically. He said it with some confusion and respect. Oliver knew when he was in trouble, and instead of risking lives, he did come to Quentin for help. The Detective decided perhaps it was time to give Oliver his chance and try to look past what happened with Sara… it would be hard, but so was asking for help… something the old Oliver never would have done. 

_The scene shifted to later that night at the Exchange Building. Moira and Walter were standing in the grand foyer, chatting quietly with one another._

_"Well, it's quite a turn out, huh?" Moira remarked, looking around. Walter hummed in agreement._

_"Well, it's quite an opportunity, actually." He said. "But regardless of the outcome of the auction, I'm already a winner because I have the two most beautiful women at my side tonight."_

_"Two?" Moira asked in confusion._

_"Mm-hmm." Walter looked up past Moira, and she turned to see Thea enter in a tasteful blue dress. "Thanks for coming, Thea." He told the young woman, kissing her on the cheek. "It means a lot to your mother. And me." Thea smiled and hugged her mother.  
_  
Moira gripped the couch in fear. She didn't want to think about a shooter and her daughter in the same sentence. Seeing Mrs. Queen's concern, Quentin swallowed his pride and said, "I'm sure Oliver will keep anything from happening to Thea." 

Glancing towards the Detective, Moira smiled tight lip but said, "Thank you."

"As will my enforcer," Malcolm whispered to Moira. He probably wouldn't even be able to let Oliver handle it before he did. Then, there was Warren, who Malcolm would happily deal with. That businessman was someone the Dark Archer always wanted to knock down a few pegs, and now, he had a golden opportunity.

" _Mr. Steele, the auction will be opening in 5 minutes." A woman said, coming up to the group. "Please make sure your bid is ready."_

_"Thank you, Gina." He replied, and then looked to his two ladies. "Shall we?"_

_"Mm-hmm." Moira agreed, and the three walked into the main room._

_Warren Patel was talking to some of his fellow businessmen when Detective Hilton approached him._

_"Warren Patel." The cop announced, grabbing the man by his arm. "I'm going to need you to come with me, sir." Oliver watched from the top of the stairs as Patel was led away. Across the room on the balcony, Lance was monitoring the situation on his radio._

Malcolm sneered; prison was too good for Warren. An early grave sounded more appropriate to Malcolm. Slade didn't miss Mr. Merlyn's expression as did Detective Lance. The officer couldn't help but wonder who exactly Mr. Merlyn was. First, the older businessman had knowledge of fighting and throwing knives, and now, there was a dark expression on his face. Quentin stared for a few seconds before returning his attention back to the television.

" _Unit one, all clear." Lance announced. "Unit two, you copy?"_

_'We have Patel in custody.' Hilton's voice sounded. 'Still, no sign of Lawton.'_

_"Unit three?"_

_'I'm at the northwest perimeter. All clear.'_

_"Unit four?"_

_'Parking structure is clear.'_

_"Unit five, what's your status?" he asked._

_Across the street in an under construction floor of an office building, Deadshot lifted up the radio. "This is unit five." He said. "All clear." He put the radio down and grabbed his sniper rifle, paying no attention to the dead cop on the floor._  
  
Detective Lance looked concerned. He couldn't believe his only hope now was Oliver, and he prayed that Queen got there in time to avoid any deaths. Thea gripped Tommy's hand, worried she was either about to see her mother's death or Walter's. Tommy squeezed back and shot Thea what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Ollie's got this," Tommy said confidently.

_The scene changed to show Laurel walking through a deserted courthouse._

_"Oh, what a shock." She looked up to see Tommy sitting in one of the chairs that lined the wall, grinning at her. "It is Friday night. What are you doing here?" he asked._

_"Well, I am an attorney and this is a courthouse, so I think the better question is, what are you doing here?" she countered._

"No, I can think of a few reasons why you'd be in a courthouse," Laurel countered. Tommy hung his head in shame, and to try and help, Thea squeezed Tommy's hand back. 

" _I wanted to talk to you about last night." He began._

_"You mean how I saved your asses? You're welcome." She said teasingly. Tommy rose from the chair._  
  
"Probably saved Fuller's ass from my brother actually," Thea commented, waiting desperately to see what would happen at the auction. A lot of people were on edge with what was going to come. 

_"Ok, first of all, we shall never, ever speak of that ever again." He said with a smile. "And secondly, I think you know that I meant the other thing."_

_"I don't care to talk about that." Laurel said, movie to walk away._

_"I spoke to Oliver." Tommy said, stopping Laurel in her tracks. "He was surprisingly cool."_

_"That's because he knew." Laurel realized. At Tommy's confused look, she pressed on. "Did you see his face when Thea told him? Tommy, he didn't even blink. Trust me, he knew."_

_"Then why didn't he say anything?" Tommy asked. Laurel shrugged._

_"I don't know. Maybe because he knows he doesn't have any right to judge me."  
_  
To try and alleviate the tension, Laurel shrugged, "He doesn't."

"No he does not," her father said with a nod. 

" _There's a silver lining, though." Tommy said after a moment. "Now that the whole truth and nothing but is out, is there a chance now for you and me?" they stared at one another. "You said you didn't think that I was a one girl type of guy. I'm going to prove you wrong." He decided._

_"By dating me." Laurel said._

_"By being better." He clarified. "By being someone that you deserve and that you want to be with." He finished earnestly._

_Laurel smiled. "Well that's certainly a guy I'd be interested in meeting." She said finally. Tommy smiled._

_"Good. Now how about we start, ahem, by getting you the heck out of here." He took the case files from her and held out his arm. "Come on, it is Friday night. Come on." He encouraged. Laurel sighed and took his arm._

_"Fine." She said, smiling._

Tommy looked over to Laurel and winked. "See you'll eventually succumb to my charm." He was glad to see that in a few months there was a chance for him and Laurel even with Oliver home. Ever since Oliver's disappearance, Tommy had struggled to get Laurel to see him as something serious and worth dating. At first, it had started innocently enough- they were both looking for release from the depression surrounding what they thought was the loss of both Oliver and Sara. It hadn't taken long for Tommy to fall for Laurel, and he had tried and tried again to get her to see him. 

"Look at you growing up," Laurel smiled, seeing potential in Tommy. She loved Oliver, being past tense. She was happy he'd be coming home, but perhaps Joanna was right in that she needed to stop thinking about Oliver. There was another guy right in front of her that was also more than what he seemed. 

Malcolm glanced towards Laurel, and in her, he saw the potential in forcing his son to grow up. She'd help to center him and perhaps get Tommy to do something with his life. Malcolm only wanted the best for Tommy, and he didn't mind some tough love. However if Laurel could help push Tommy in that direction, then perhaps Malcolm wouldn't have to intervene. 

_The scene shifted back to the Exchange Building. Oliver entered the main room, only to be brought up short by a familiar voice._

_"Well, don't you scrub up nice?" Lance said sarcastically, as he cast his eyes around the room._

_"Here to support my family." Oliver stated with a tight smile._

_"Yeah, me too, God help me." Lance remarked crossly._

_"Thank you." Oliver said quietly, in honest thanks. Lance scoffed at him and moved off. Oliver moved into the room and headed to his bodyguard. "Dig," he said to the man, his yes looking around the room. "Got your eyes open?"_

_Dig gave him a look. "That's what I'm here for, sir." He said, annoyed. "That and answering patronizing questions."_

_"This guy's out of time." Oliver said plainly, still looking around. "If he's going to do something, it's going to happen before the auction."_

"That was deliberate," Detective Lance remarked.

"Yes it was," Malcolm said slowly leaning forward. The businessman could see that Oliver was purposefully baiting Mr. Diggle. 

By now, Slade had already figured it out. Oliver on the island had always done things better when he was in a group- first himself and Shado, then him and Sara. To Slade, it was obvious that Oliver was testing the waters with Diggle- see if the bodyguard could hold and in turn deal with the secret. It was a good match, Slade had to admit to himself. Oliver's training with Diggle's military background would make them a formidable team… add in Felicity, who Slade was also beginning to suspect would be brought in… Slade would have to deal with them first before he went after Oliver. 

_Diggle looked at him, partly in confusion and partly in worry. "Sir?" he asked. Oliver looked at him, the mask back on suddenly._

_"I heard the story on the radio." He said lamely._

_"Oliver!" Walter exclaimed happily. Oliver walked over to the man. "So pleased you were able to attend."_

_"Hmm." He replied. "Walter, the police said that some of the Unidac bidders were murdered." He told the man, worry in his voice. "I just think that we should be a little bit more careful. My mother's already lost a husband." He finished quietly._

_"Well, if Moira shared your concern, she wouldn't have come." Walter said, unconcerned. "And she definitely wouldn't have brought your sister." Oliver looked up in shock at his mother and sister standing only a few feet away. He made his way over to them._  
  
"If I have my way now, none of my family will be there," Moira announced.

Malcolm leaned in and said quietly, "Except Queen Industries needs to acquire Unidac. Walter will have to be there." Malcolm's tone indicated that there was no room to argue. "As I said, my enforcer will be there. Your family will be in no danger." 

Moira wanted to point out the hypocrisy of that statement, but she didn't want to antagonize Malcolm now. 

_"Hi." He said, motioning to Diggle, who hurried over._

_"Oliver, what a wonderful surprise." Moira started, but Oliver ignored her._

_"I need you to get them out of here right now." He told Diggle._

_Across the room, Lance was still looking around, worried. A flicker of red light caught his eye, and he looked over, glancing at Walter- who had a small, red dot on his chest over his heart. It took only a second for Lance to realize what it was, and he took off running. He tackled Walter to the ground just as the sound of shattered glass echoed throughout the room, and the waiter that had been standing behind Walter flew back, killed by Deadshot's missed round._

Moira and Thea sat up, terrified. Walter had almost died. Turning to Detective Lance, in all earnest, Moira said, "Thank you…"

"Not a problem," Quentin said honestly back. He was glad to see he could save someone, even if the waiter had died as a result. He just hoped that when they all returned, he'd get the opportunity to make sure no one died at the Exchange.

_Screams erupted, and Diggle grabbed Moira even as Oliver grabbed Thea and hurried them out of the room. More shots rang out, and another man went down._

_"Are you ok?" Oliver asked Thea. She nodded, and he looked to his mother. "Are you hurt?" he demanded._

_"No, I'm fine!" she replied shakily. "Where is Walter?" she asked, terrified that he was dead. Oliver looked around and saw Detective Lance leading him out of the room._

_"Walter's fine." He assured her._

_"Sir, I have to get you out of here." Diggle started, but Oliver shook his head._

_"No, them. Them!" he demanded, pointing at his mother and sister. He then turned and ran off, leaving his mother calling after him._

_"Go, go," Diggle said, pointing to the exit. "I'll find him, ma'am, I'll find him." He assured her._

_Oliver ran up the service stairs, pausing briefly at a trashcan. He pulled off the lid and pulled out a duffle bag. Opening the bad, he extracted his hood, and then continued up the stairs. A minute later, Dig came up the stairs, pausing briefly at the trashcan._  
  
"Is that the best place to stash his costume?" Thea pondered.

'Now what are you planning?' Malcolm thought wryly. Buildings like that were bound to have cameras in every stairway, and he did not believe Oliver was foolish enough to not know that himself. If the younger archer placed his costume near a camera, then to Malcolm, Oliver had an endgame for it.

_Across the street, Deadshot was continuing to fire into the Exchange Building when suddenly The Hood crashed through the window. He landed and rolled, ducking behind a column as Deadshot sprayed bullets from his wrist gun. Oliver returned fire, missing twice. There was silence as Lawton looked for a kill shot._

_"Drop your guns." The Hood yelled._

_"I admire your work." Lawton replied. "Guess you won't be extending me any professional courtesy."_

_"We're not in the same line of work." The Hood snarled. "Your profession is murder."_

To everyone's shock, Quentin didn't comment; he did, however, notice when he was being stared at. "Do you want me to say something?" he asked, and most people had the good sense to look a tad ashamed. 

_"You've taken lives." Deadshot shot back._

_"For the good of others." The Hood defended. "You're out for yourself." Deadshot scoffed, then opened fire, spraying the column with bullets. As soon as the clip was empty, The Hood whipped around and fired, then ducked back behind the column. He heard a body drop, and then waited a few more moments to be sure. Finally he peeked out-_

_And saw Deadshot on the ground, apparently dead, with an arrow through his targeting sensor eyepiece._

_He stared at the body for a moment, before a groan caught his attention. He whirled around to see Dig, slumping against a doorframe, wounded by a ricochet from Deadshot. Without hesitation, The Hood ran over to him, put Digs' arm around his shoulders, and walked him out._  
  
Slade could tell this is where he'd find out if he was right- whether or not Oliver left Diggle to die. He expected the kid to given the record, but a crusade like this, Oliver would need help. As such, Slade wouldn't be shocked if Oliver put the time in to keep Diggle alive.

"He was right, you know," Tommy said quietly, and when he saw Laurel looking at him. "Oliver, when he said that Deadshot is only out for himself… it's true. Everyone he's killed or threatened at this point was for someone else's sake." Tommy wasn't sure if that made it right still.

Malcolm thought that perhaps Oliver wasn't doing this to make things better out of the goodness of his heart but due to guilt. Robert had found a way to tell Oliver enough to discover the names on the List; the Dark Archer had to think that maybe Oliver had found out even more, just not about the Undertaking.

_The scene flashed back to the Island, where Oliver awoke with a start to see the Asian man standing before him, a machete in his hand._

_"Shǎguā." He said in Mandarin. "Zhège dìfāng tài wéixiǎnle, rènhé yīgè rén dúchǔ." He walked over and cut the net down, sending Oliver crashing to the ground. "Tāmen huì shāle nǐ." The man declared. Oliver made his way out of the net, scrambling to his feet as he heard something heading through the bush behind him. He ran after the Asian. Moments later, soldiers in all black appeared. They studied the net, tossing it aside and moving off after a few minutes._

"He really isn't alone," Laurel frowned as she realized that Slade hadn't been lying earlier. Which meant that mercenary probably had hurt Ollie, and she wanted nothing more than to turn and punch the one-eyed man. It was only the chill that ran down her spine that stopped her when she noticed Artemis looking right at her; the hood hide her face well, but Laurel felt as though she was being stared at, keeping her glued.

Slade grinned as it hit him hard where he had heard that last name 'Lance' before. Up until now, he hadn't been paying that close of attention to the Detective and his daughter, but with the realization that this was Sara's family, he couldn't imagine a better get together. Oliver might have killed Shado, but Sara helped. It was disappointing to Slade to think that bitch, Lance, wouldn't be here to see him destroy her family. He couldn't imagine why any group would want him here to watch these memories unless it was to destroy each and every person in the room… but he was happy for the opportunity even if he was forced to wait until they returned to enact on it.

_Back in the present, The Hood led Diggle down into the Foundry. Laying him on a table, he moved to the munitions crate and pulled out the bag of herbs. Mixing some in water, he fed the potion to Diggle, who coughed slightly but drank._

_Sometime later- it could have been minutes, it could have been hours, Diggle came too. He looked around in confusion, wondering where he was. He struggled to sit up, finally doing so. As his surroundings came back into focus, he spotted a familiar face. Across from him, leaning against another table and dressed in green leather and hood down, was Oliver Queen._

_"Hey." He said as Diggle looked at him in stunned silence.  
_  
"Well there went his secret identity," Thea groaned.

"He planned to tell Mr. Diggle eventually anyway," Malcolm pointed out, and Slade wasn't all that surprised to see the other man had figured it out too. "Hence the obvious lies. Oliver was testing his bodyguard to see if he could be brought into the fold."

" _Oliver?" Diggle asked, stunned. "You're that vigilante." He deduced, and then took a sloppy swing at the man. Oliver easily sidestepped the punch and Diggle ran into the table._

_"Easy, Dig." He said calmly. "You were poisoned."_

_"Son of a bitch." Diggle groaned, throwing another punch. Oliver caught the man and leaned him back up against the other table. Diggle groaned and glared at the other man._

_"Come on." Oliver started. "I could have taken you anywhere, could have taken you home." He gestured around. "I brought you here."_

_"You really did lose your mind on that island." Diggle observed._

_"Found a couple things along the way." Oliver replied._

_Diggle scoffed. "Like what, archery classes?"_

_"Clarity." He stated, taking a step closer to Digg. "Starling City is dying. It is being poisoned, by a criminal elite who don't care who they hurt, as long as they maintain their wealth and power." He espoused.  
_  
Moira was surprised to see how observant her son was; he had made mention of the city being poisoned in the beginning, but she saw now just how astute her son was. The city was dying, and Malcolm's plan wouldn't change a thing… but what else could she do? Moira wasn't about to lose any more family to Malcolm.

" _What are you gonna do, take 'em all down by your lonesome?" Diggle asked scathingly._

_"No." Oliver shook his head. "Now, I want you to join me."_

Earth side, Oliver stared down at the pair of assassins now kneeling before him. He had sent them out with a simple task- track down Nyssa Al Ghul; he would not be happy with failure. Silently, he stood, sword in hand, and approached the pair.

"Master," the first one said. "We found Nyssa."

When the assassin didn't continue, Oliver took a calming breath and asked, "And what did you do?"

Maseo answered, "We sent her on a wild goose chase through China. She will not be a problem." Maseo worried how his wording could come back to bite him if Nyssa did just that, but he wasn't about to give Ra's Al Ghul anything but an explicit straight-forward answer. 

"Good," Oliver stated before he waved the first assassin away. Maseo had never seen a League member scurry away so quickly; the young assassin's green was showing, and it was something that would have to be dealt with later. Fear of Ra's Al Ghul was expected but so was respect. One swallowed their fear in his presence… unless, of course, one was a prisoner or a potential recruit. 

"What now Master?" Maseo asked as he was allowed to stand. His bones and muscles ached as he did so. He was getting too old for this, and he was thankful Oliver rarely sent him out anymore. Instead, Maseo usually dealt with training the new recruits- helping them to hone and center themselves. 

"Now I believe I have a conversation with Ms. Harper about her plan," Oliver stated moving away from Maseo. Without being asked too but knowing it was expected, he followed a step behind his Master. 

"You want one of us in Star City?" he asked.

"No," Oliver said with a shake of his head. Along the way, assassins bowed their heads in respect. "We don't know when she will teleport down next and if it will be into Star City. No, I will go speak with her on the Watchtower."

"Wait… how?" The Watchtower had serious security, but it was breakable. The Injustice League had successfully infiltrated the tower twice before, and one time Maseo wondered if Oliver had a hand in helping. The League of Assassins tended to stay out of the trivial matters between the groups, but occasionally, they involved themselves if the balance was out of sync. A few months prior, they had dealt with a few traitors in the Justice League and killed three… almost four.

"I have the door access codes," Oliver admitted. "I retrieved them off Thea when we fought the League."

"There are the transporter codes still," Maseo pointed out. It wouldn't help much to be able to move around on the Watchtower if one couldn't get up there to start. 

"Then it is a good thing, we have someone who knows them," Oliver continued, and Maseo realized where they were. "Stay here."

"Master…"

"He is not currently a threat," Oliver said with a wave of his hand as he stepped into the dank cell. 

Sitting on the stone floor with his hands manacled to the wall was none other than Malcolm Merlyn. Since his capture, Oliver had not made his way down here until now, and he saw the flicker of surprise across the older man's face before the mask fell in place. Standing near the door, Oliver considered the prisoner. For Malcolm's age, the Dark Archer was a constant threat, and the man could easily take out a good chunk of the League of Assassins members before being stopped. Thus, Oliver wasn't going to take any chances; he himself wasn't worried for his own life, but he didn't want to spend months replacing whoever Malcolm might kill. Oliver had better things to have be a burden.

"Al Saer," he greeted. 

With a hooded glare, Malcolm said, "Oliver." It was a sign of disrespect to the now Ra's Al Ghul, but he let it pass for the moment. They considered each other- to Malcolm, Oliver looked no different. The Lazarus Pit had done a good job on everything but apparently Oliver's mind- at least in Malcolm's opinion. Finally unable to bear the silence Malcolm broke and asked, "Why am I still alive?" The blood had long dried to his shirt where Oliver's sword had pierced Malcolm's chest clean through. In that moment, the Dark Archer had thought he was going to die, and he had accepted it since he had done it to save Thea's life.

"You're more use alive," Oliver said truthfully. "And that use has come due." Drawing his sword, Oliver watched as Malcolm flinched. Pushing the sword into the stone, Oliver knelt to get down to Malcolm's level. "You have the transporter codes to the Watchtower."

Fear flashed across Malcolm's face. The older man might have dreaded the old Ra's Al Ghul more, but he did know to fear this one as well. "I don't know them," he lied. He didn't know why Oliver would want them since the League of Assassins usually stayed out of Justice League matters, but he wasn't about to give them over and risk Thea's life. 

"Don't lie to me," Oliver growled. "You and I both know you will tell them to me. It's only a matter of time before you give them to me." With a smile, Oliver flipped his sword and pressed the point into Malcolm's once wound- healed courtesy of some of the water from the Lazarus Pit. "Once you give them up, your usefulness will have ended." Standing, Oliver slid his sword back into his sheath. "And then I will grant you your release from the League Al Saer."

Malcolm didn't need to be told that the only release from the League he would receive would be his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a snow day and had some time… Now to answer a few questions: I did not have Felicity and Diggle in this viewing party for 2 reasons- one is in story and you'll find out later; the other is because they always stood behind Oliver. Them seeing it ahead of time in my opinion wouldn't change much besides perhaps Felicity giving in sooner (but I think it was important that she didn't- gave the team a conscience). As for romance, I'm going to stick to cannon with no real end pairings- just whatever was in the show is what I'll in turn highlight. But yes, I am a fan of Oliver and Felicity (so I'm a tad biased).
> 
> I have a pretty solid idea for how the future story line will play out too, so *thumbs up* Next update probably won't be until Sunday to sometime next week. I won't promise this epic update schedule (multiple in one week) will stay but I'll do my best.


	6. An Innocent Man

**An Innocent Man**

Tommy sputtered over what he had just seen; Oliver had not only saved Diggle's life, but he had purposefully revealed his identity too. At first, the young Merlyn had figured that it was all an accident where Oliver hadn't had any other choice but to do just that… but then Oliver had offered Diggle a spot to help in his crusade. Tommy wasn't sure what to expect now nor how Diggle would reply.

Malcolm and Slade smirked knowingly as they both had guessed this prior to actually hearing Oliver speaking. They caught the other's grin, and at the same time, they both practically wiped their faces of any emotion.

Moira, unlike everyone else, had a feeling of elation at seeing her son let someone in. She was terrified to think this plan would get him killed, more so at the thought that Malcolm would hire his enforcer to do the deed. Seeing that Oliver was attempting to bring others in gave her hope that her son would survive and stay on his path and far from whatever Malcolm might be planning.

Finally, Quentin scowled at the memory. In his mind, he now had two vigilantes to worry about instead of one- just what Starling City needed, more masks. Somehow, he got the distinct feeling that Artemis had an inkling into his mind as when he looked at her, he could see her own grin directed at him. She pointed slowly to her mask in turn, and he huffed as he turned back.

"Will you stop antagonizing my father?" Canary asked into Artemis's earpiece.

"Well, not my fault he's making it easy," Artemis replied. She listened as her once teammate had to give her that. Detective Lance wasn't difficult to rile up. "This one… and then we will talk," she continued announcing to the room. This memory would help lay everything on the table, and she wasn't going to wait until the next one when it all came crashing down. Plus, she didn't think Tommy would be in the mood to listen when he saw just how much of a part his father was going to play in all of this.

In her ear, Roy asked slowly, "How much will you tell them?" They had agreed to not distract their 'guests', but the only way this would work is if some questions were answered in advance. Artemis would have to dance around some things while outright admit others- such as her being a Merlyn.

"Are you going to tell them who you are?" the Canary asked, curious. Artemis didn't answer. She didn't want to reveal herself, but she wasn't sure she'd have a choice in the matter. Malcolm and Slade especially would not let her scrape by much longer without a clue, and she was certain Detective Lance had already created a possible list of who she could be.

The memory continued from where it ended earlier.

_Diggle scoffed, but Oliver continued. "Special Forces out of Kandahar. It's perfect." He looked at Diggle. "You're a fellow soldier." He stated._  
  
Slade let out a near inaudible growl at that. He couldn't believe for a second that the kid thought of himself as a fellow solider, a brother in arms. He had been Slade's brother once, before Oliver wasted little time stabbing him in the back and killing the woman he loved.

_Digg shook his head. "Oliver, you're not a soldier." He said. "You're a criminal. And a murderer." He spat, staggering out of the lair as Oliver sighed._

"That was harsh," Thea scoffed. "Ollie did just save his life."

Laurel understood Diggle's reaction; the world wasn't so black and white as much as they all wanted to pretend it was. She herself was attempting to come to terms with what exactly Oliver was doing. The city was sick, and no one, not even the cops, were making it better. She just wasn't certain that Oliver's method was the best one either. Then again, she felt biased due to the fact… Laurel shook her head and cleared her thoughts of any attraction to Oliver. She was completely over him, and she hoped if she kept telling herself that, it'd come true.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, later that night. Oliver, back in his suit and tie, walked in and wearily started making his way up the stairs when a voice stopped him in his tracks._

_"Where were you?"_

_Oliver turned around to see Laurel at the bottom of the stairs he sighed. "What are you doing here?" he asked tiredly._

_"I heard about the shooting, and I wanted to make sure you were ok." She explained._

_"You did?"_

Laurel's face fell; she wasn't sure why Oliver would think she wouldn't care. Even if her behavior was on the contrary currently, she couldn't deny all the years they had shared. She would hate for him to think that she didn't care.

_"Yeah." Laurel looked at him sternly. "I knocked on the door, and I found a family terrified for you." Oliver sighed and laid his head against the post. "They had no idea where you were."_

_"Oh." He said simply. He had been so caught up in the moment that he had honestly forgot about calling them so they knew he was alright._

_"Oliver, are you so self-centered that you don't think that people who care about you are gonna wonder where you are after you all got shot at?" Laurel started, but Oliver cut her off._

"Wow," was all Tommy said.

Laurel turned defensive, "It's not like I knew what he was actually doing. If I had thought…" she trailed off. She wasn't entirely sure what she would think neither did Tommy. Because of Oliver only one person at the auction died, but to do such, Oliver had to put an arrow into the guy's eye. Tommy cringed at that thought; he didn't think an arrow to the eye would be very pleasant. 

" _You're right." He said simply._

_Laurel stepped in closer. "I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago, but Moira, Thea, and Walter, they don't deserve that." She said simply. "They deserve better, someone who doesn't care only about himself." With that, she walked past him towards the front door._  
  
Thea tried to stifle a small laugh, and when she received stares, she shrugged, "Irony." As if it needed to be pointed out, and while things were still far from normal, the situation was amusing enough to get everyone to take a deep breath and relax.

All except for Malcolm and Slade who were, of course, on edge just due to the other person. Unlike the others, they didn't find what Oliver was doing distasteful. Malcolm held some pride for the younger archer who had gone through hell, obviously, and had come out stronger and better for it. Slade just didn't like Oliver, plain and simple. He's prefer if the families continued to hate and distrust the kid; his plans would go all the smoother then.

_"Laurel," Oliver started, struggling to find something to say. Finally, he settled on, "Thank you for coming."_

_"I care about the lives of other people, Oliver." She replied. "Maybe you should try it sometime." With that, she walked out of the house._

_Oliver threw his head back and sighed. "Oh, man." He muttered tiredly._

_"That was harsh." Thea walked up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?" she asked simply._

_"Sure." Oliver replied. "Second time tonight that a friend of mine has taken me to the woodshed. Kind of tires you out."_

_"Yeah." Thea agreed. Oliver kissed her on the forehead._

_"Good night." He said, wearily walking up the stairs._

_"Good night." She called back._

"I miss him," Thea said, more to herself than anything else. She realized that she would be seeing him again soon enough, but as of now, she hadn't had the chance to see, talk, or even touch her own brother to confirm this was all real. She hoped that this Artemis was telling the truth so that she could have a few moments alone with Oliver, even if it was his future self, just so she could hug him and tell him she loved him.

_That night, Oliver once again dreamed of the Island._

_The scene flashed back to the cave. Oliver had pulled a photo of Laurel out of his wallet and was looking at it when Yao Fei came in, a bird in a hand-made bamboo cage._

_He set the cage down in front of Oliver._

_"Shengcún." He said._  
  
For a moment, Slade almost felt pity for the kid. At this point, Oliver was practically useless, and it was shocking how long the playboy had survived on the island. To have a life so set in stone then to have it ripped away; Slade could understand the uncertainty the kid was facing. However, he only almost felt pity for the kid; he didn't actually feel anything besides rage. Had Yao Fei let the boy die then perhaps Shado would have lived.

_Oliver looked between him and the bird, uncomprehending. "What am I supposed to do with that?"_

_"Shengcún." Yao Fei repeated._

_"Does that mean 'bird'?" Oliver guessed._

_"Shengcún!"_

_"I don't speak Chinese!" he yelled back, frustrated. Yao Fei went back to his work, and Oliver returned to starring at the picture. "I'm sorry, Laurel. I'm so sorry."_  
  
Laurel's face fell. She felt crushed to see the Oliver she once knew broken and alone. After five years, she could see how all of this had led to the new Ollie, the vigilante. The island had literally chipped away at everything he had been and replaced it anew. She frowned to see she had been part of that experience, and somehow, her father must have read her mind, as he began to reach over to hold her hand. However, Tommy had unknowingly gotten their first, and he squeezed it tight.

"That's not your fault," he said in all seriousness which Detective Lance could wholeheartedly agree with. Laurel hadn't put Oliver on that island. 

"Are you sure?" Laurel couldn't help but ask; she remembered the events that had led to Ollie running. She began to wonder about if she had pushed him away and onto that boat. 

_Back in the present, Oliver shot awake, breathing hard. Giving up sleep, he threw on a robe and headed downstairs, thinking to watch some TV. He was surprised to find that Thea beat him to it; she was sitting on the couch in her own robe, munching on chips. A news report played on the TV._

_'There were no signs of forced entry or any evidence of a struggle, but, hours later, the police found that the bloodstained kitchen knife in the trunk…'_

_Thea noticed him. "Couldn't sleep, either?" she asked. Oliver shook his head and sat next to her._

_"No." he looked at the TV. "What are you watching?" he asked._

_"Peter Declan." She said simply._

_"Hmm?" he said, confused._

_"The guy who killed his wife." She saw the uncomprehending look on his face. "Right. This guy killed his wife in their baby's room." She explained, leaning back into the couch. "Psycho."_

"I remember him," Thea hmmed. 

"Glad to see that man will finally be out of our lives," Moira said a breath later. She remembered when the news couldn't stop talking about him, and she hadn't realized his death sentence had come due. While she wasn't thrilled with such a sentence or what her son now did, she was glad to know she could sleep better at night with Peter Declan gone.

Malcolm, on the other hand, stared at the screen contemplatively. Unlike the others, he had it on good authority, from the fact he had written the List, that Peter had been innocent. There hadn't been anything he could have done to change the man's fate though, so he hadn't bothered. He speculated that this memory would be intertwined with Declan's fate.

_Oliver looked at the TV, where Declan was talking to a reporter in prison. 'Camille was everything to me.' He was saying. 'I couldn't kill her any more than I could kill myself.'_

_"So why can't you sleep?" Thea asked Oliver, pausing the TV._

_"Bad dreams." He said._

_"About?"_

_"Laurel." Oliver sighed._

_"So why don't you make a play?" Thea asked with a small smiled. "I mean, she did come over here just to make sure you didn't get shot."_

_"There are reasons." Oliver said. Thea gave him a look._

_"Mm, what are they?" she asked dryly, before listing several. "Besides you sleeping with her sister and her sister dying and her father hating your guts and you basically being a jerk to everybody since you've been back?"_

Cringing, Thea shrunk back in her seat. Quentin, instead, chuckled- shocking the room abruptly. "She did hit the nail on the head," he explained. He couldn't help but hope that Laurel would remember all these reasons before jumping back into bed with Queen. The last thing he wanted was for his daughter to be dating not only Queen but a vigilante. 

_Oliver nodded. "Those are the top ones." Thea bit back a smile. "I know that it might not seem like it sometimes, but I'm not the same person I used to be." Oliver tried to explain._

_"So show her." Thea replied. "Be yourself. I mean your new self." Oliver looked at his sister, considering her words._  
  
Smiling, Laurel couldn't help but to consider the new Oliver… in his green outfit. Her father groaned and muttered something about a solitary cell for them both in separate prisons. Tommy scowled and pulled his hand back from Laurel, to her disappointment. He'd try again later once he figured Laurel had the time to look away from the memory.

_The scene changed to the next day. Oliver came downstairs and walked in to the sitting room, where Moira was sitting, reading the paper. In the back was a tall, white man in a suit that brought him up short._

_"How did you sleep?" Moira asked, not looking up from her paper._

_"Just fine, thank you." He said pleasantly. He looked to the new man. "We have a visitor."_

_"Hmm." Moira hummed. "Mr. Diggle's replacement."_

_"Replacement?" a chill went down his spine._

"He misjudged," Malcolm frowned. As did he, apparently. He had thought Diggle would join Oliver's crusade, but there was still hope. There were no cops swarming the house yet, so perhaps Oliver would be able to talk Mr. Diggle around given time. If not, Malcolm could use a man like him, but he didn't think he'd have any more luck convincing the man to join the Undertaking… even if the money was spectacular. 

_"Yes." Moira said. "He tendered his resignation this morning."_

_"Did he say why?" Oliver asked, trying to stay cool. Moira finally put the paper down. "He said he didn't approve of the way you spend your evenings, particularly given that they always begin with you ditching him."_  
  
"Then dress up in green leather to run around on rooftops," Thea added for good measure to Tommy and Laurel's amusement. 

_Oliver silently breathed a sigh of relief. He walked up to the man and smiled, extending his hand._

_"Hi."_

_"Mr. Queen, Rob Scott." Rob introduced himself, shaking Oliver's hand. "I'll be your new body man."_

_"That's a firm grip you got there, Rob." Oliver said jovially._

_"That's 5 years SWAT with Monument Point M.C.U." he explained. Oliver nodded sagely._

"And what, five minutes before Oliver ditches him?" Tommy questioned.

"If that," Thea answered with a smile. 

Moira sighed loudly and began to make plans that did not involve any body guards. She would like a way to keep track of her son, but that was beginning to look impossible without a GPS tracking bracelet. 

_"I feel safer already."_

_"Ah, thank God we don't have to hear about this awful man anymore." Moira said, drawing Oliver's attention. He looked back at the TV, where Declan was once again the focus of the news._

_'Declan's execution is set for midnight 2 days from now.' The news anchor was saying. 'Camille Declan's former employer, Jason Brodeur, released a statement saying, quote, 'I hope this gives Camille the peace she deserves.''_

_"Jason Brodeur?" Oliver remarked to himself._

_"What?" Moira asked, looking up at Oliver._

_"The dead wife worked for Jason Brodeur." Oliver said._

_"Apparently so." Moira looked at Olive curiously. "What- why?"_

_"No reason." Oliver said lightly, and then turned to his new body man. "Say, Rob, I want to go into town. Could you please get the car for me?"_

Even Slade could see through the terrible lie. He would never be able to understand how the kid had gotten away with this vigilante business thus far when the kid had a tendency to create terrible stories. 

"Why does Oliver care?" Tommy asked.

Without meaning to, Malcolm answered, "Because Jason Brodeur is on the list." When he realized that he might have revealed too much, he continued, "That would be the only reasonable conclusion."

"Mom?" Thea implored since from earlier, she knew her mother had knowledge of the List.

"It does," she confirmed, barely glancing toward Malcolm, but it didn't go unnoticed by both Tommy and Thea. 

_"No offense, Mr. Queen, but I have been filled in on your tendency to slip the leash." Rob said. "If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer keeping you in my sights at all times."_

_"We're 20 miles from the city." Oliver pointed out reasonably. "If you don't drive me, how else am I gonna get there?" He looked at the man. "Right?" Rob nodded awkwardly and left to get the car. Oliver looked down at his mother. "I like him." He remarked._

_Outside a few minutes later, Rob was standing by the Bentley. Suddenly, Oliver roared past him on his motorcycle. He gave a wave to Rob, who unthinkingly returned it. "Hey!" he shouted in vain._

Thea grinned at her brother antics. She was glad to see some things didn't change, even if the rest did. Tommy and Laurel almost felt bad for the bodyguards; the men were out of their depth when it came to Oliver.

_The scene shifted to the Foundry, where Oliver was researching the Declan case. 'They say Peter Declan murdered his wife in cold blood.' Oliver's voice said as he looked over various reports on his computer. 'He had no alibi, and all the evidence pointed toward him. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, an open-and-shut case, except for one thing.' He pulled out the notebook and looked through it briefly, finally stopping when he found what he was looking for- Jason Brodeur's name. 'Declan's wife Camille worked for Jason Brodeur. And Jason Brodeur is on the list.'_  
  
Laurel closed her eyes and whispered, "Please don't say there's an innocent man on death row."

On the other hand, Detective Lance only thought that just because a guy's name was on this List did not mean that he had set up another man for murder. There was no possible way that the SCPD had helped put a blameless man behind bars.

_At an undisclosed location, a well-dressed man was reading about Declan's upcoming execution. He looked up from his paper. "Mr. Brodeur." He said respectfully._

_"Admiring your handiwork?" Brodeur asked the man, a smile on his face._

_"You should have just let me kill both of 'em."_  
  
Laurel shot an annoyed glance to her father. Quentin scowled but said, "That still doesn't make what Queen's doing right."

"Perhaps not Detective," Malcolm said playing his part well. "But it seems to me that Oliver is planning to bring this conspiracy to light."

"Oh?" Quentin asked, unbelieving.

"Why else would we be watching this particular memory," Malcolm replied with ease effectively, quieting the Detective.

_"Peter Declan is worth more alive." Brodeur argued. "'Husband kills wife' is a much better headline than 'whistle-blower uncovers toxic dumping,' don't you think?" He sighed happily. "Either way, 48 hours, all this'll be over."_

_Back at the Foundry, Oliver was making new arrows._

_'The odds are good that Brodeur is involved in this woman's murder, which means an innocent man is facing execution.' Oliver sat back at his desk, pulling out his worn photograph of Laurel. He looked up, thinking. 'He'll need a good attorney.'_

"He better not," Quentin growled.

"And he's totally going to," Thea grinned. After all the comments, the Detective had continued to make about her brother, Thea saw no reason not to bother him a bit in turn. He had always hated Oliver for the night the yacht sank- vigilante or no-, so she wasn't about to let him always get away with smearing her brother's name.

_The scene changed to CNRI, where Laurel was busy gathering papers. Joanna walked over to her._

_"So I take it there's absolutely no point in asking if you'd like to grab a drink?" she asked._

_"I can't." Laurel said, closing out her computer. "I have to go over transcripts for the Fernands case."_

_"You know, if you go somewhere that's not work or your home, your odds of meeting someone increase by, like, a gazillion percent." Joanna noted._

_"Oh, that's not true. I could still get mugged on the way home." Laurel argued, throwing her bag on her shoulder._

Malcolm shuddered at the thought. His poor wife had been mugged on her way home from the Glades, and while he wasn't a fan of Quentin, he didn't want anyone to go through what he had with Rebecca. No one should die in the Glades, and when Malcolm was done with the Undertaking, it would never happen again… since there would be no Glades to even rebuild. 

" _In that case, I hope he's cute and single."_

_"Good night, Joanna." Laurel said as she walked out of the building._

_Laurel made her way back to her apartment without incident. As she entered, she went to turn the light on-_

_But nothing happened._

_She flicked the switch a couple more times, but the light stayed off. She glanced up at the light in confusion, and then cautiously made her way further into her apartment._

_She looked into her living room, and saw the curtain blowing from the wind coming through an open window. Panicked, but controlled, Laurel opened the lower drawer of her desk and pulled out a handgun. She pulled back the slide to chamber a round._

_Suddenly she felt someone behind her. She spun, pointing her gun at the intruder._  
  
"What the luck she'll shoot him?" the Detective muttered, unable to help himself. He was willing to try and keep an open mind, but now that Queen had purposefully involved his daughter, he was more willing to put a bullet into the vigilante instead.

"My son is doing your job," Moira argued. She felt terrible as she had thought Peter deserved to die, not once considering that the Jason had done it… and she had known about the List and all the names that were on it too. Thus, that made it all the worse.

"If he stayed out of my way, I could do it better," the officer growled back.

"And if he had, Peter Declan would have died without us ever knowing this," Laurel said, effectively ending the argument.

_Across from her, The Hood stood. Unseen to her, he clicked on a voice modulator he held in his hand._

_"Hello, Laurel." He said._

_"Don't move!" Laurel shouted, holding the gun steady on The Hood._

_"I'm not gonna hurt you." Oliver said holding out his bow and switching it over to his non-dominate hand. He started to slowly walk towards her._

_"Stay back." Laurel said, gun held steady. "My father's a cop. You are making a huge mistake."_

_"I'm not the person you think I am," Oliver started, "and I need your help. Peter Declan is gonna be executed in 48 hours. I think he's innocent." He explained. "Declan's wife was gonna blow the whistle on Jason Brodeur. Brodeur had her murdered." He was now an arm's length from the woman._

_"There are a thousand lawyers in Starling City." She reasoned. "Why me?"_  
  
"I can think of a few reasons," Thea murmured, but when she noticed Laurel had heard her, she smiled and added, "If you knew that was Ollie…"

Tommy watched as Laurel backed off whatever argument she had in mind with those words, and he leaned back in turn. The more he watched these memories, the more he began to see how much work he had in for himself if he wanted to woo Laurel. Unlike the one of the screen, this one would know his secret day one, and that barrier would all but be effectively removed. To keep her attention, Tommy would have to do something drastic… outside of finding his own leather hood, mask, and bow, of course. 

_Oliver gently reached out and pushed the gun down to point at the floor. Laurel didn't resist._

_"We're both trying to help." Oliver said._

_"What makes you sure I'm gonna help you?" she asked. Oliver walked behind her._

_"Because I know you'd do anything to save the life of an innocent man." The Hood stated truthfully. Laurel thought for a moment, and then turned around- but the Hood was gone._

"You're in Laurel," even Tommy admitted. "He's right. You'll chase down every lead now just to prove him right or wrong."

"It's the life of an innocent man," she said in agreement. "What kind of lawyer would I be if I ignored him?"

"A sane one," Quentin pouted. 

On the other side of the room, Slade was getting a firm picture of exactly who these people were. They were rich, stuck-up, and had he preferred it, easily fooled. He could have killed half the room before they blinked from what he had seen thus far. The kid was useless as was his family and friends. Revenge would be simple… as long as he could remove the eldest Merlyn from the picture first… 

Outside of the group, Artemis stood watching, not relaxed in any state. She could see the looks her father and Slade were tossing at each other, and she began to calculate the inevitable and how long she had before she had to involve herself. The last thing she wanted was to go at Slade, mirakuru and all, especially since she couldn't cure him. There was only so much of the past she could change without risking massive ripple effects, as such her arrows were coated in pit viper venom. Something that would knock the mercenary on his ass for at least a few minutes. 

_The scene changed to the next morning, where Laurel was visiting Declan in Iron Heights Penitentiary._

_"A jury has charged you as guilty, Mr. Declan." She remarked calmly, staring at the man._

_"The evidence was stacked against me, but I didn't kill my wife." He asserted, sliding a photo of is baby daughter to the lawyer. "I didn't take my daughter's mother from her."_

_Laurel looked at the picture for a few moments, then looked back up at Declan. "The murder weapon was a knife from your kitchen with your prints on it." She said. "It was found, along with Camille's blood, in the trunk of your car. Your neighbors said they heard an argument that night." She pressed on. Declan stood and began to pace._

"Jason Brodeur did a good job," Malcolm said with a nod to Tommy's horror. "No jury would find reasonable doubt."

To the Merlyn scion, he couldn't believe how much his father was focused on this new Oliver, and how accepting his father had been of everything thus far. Now to see his father go as far as to practically complement a villain, Tommy couldn't help but think what and what he did not know about his own family.

" _We had a knockdown fight over Jason Brodeur." He said finally, looking at Laurel. "Camille worked for him, and his company had been dumping toxic waste into The Glades. Now, Camille told me that she'd gone and told a supervisor about it." He took a breath. "I was afraid for my family's safety. And we argued very loudly, yes. Izzy started crying, so Camille went and stayed in her room." He dropped back into his seat wearily. "In the morning, I went to apologize, and that's when I found her. So I just grabbed Izzy, and I ran outside, and I called 911." Laurel leaned forward. "I'm innocent, Ms. Lance." He reasserted, and Laurel believed him._  
  
"I'm not sure how Ollie is going to help prove his innocence, but I'm thankful he's trying," Laurel said truthfully. The rest of the system had failed Peter Declan, but Oliver didn't work for that system. He worked outside of it, and she was glad to see someone else that cared deeply for people and injustice. 

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Moira was walking into Walter's office._

_"Well, it looks like someone forgot a lunch date with his wife." She said lightly. Walter looked up at her, his eye glasses perched on the end of his nose._

_"What do you mean?" he asked, confused "Lunch isn't for another-" he looked at his watch and blanched slightly. He pulled off his glasses. "I'm so sorry."_

_"It's all right." Moira laughed lightly. "The restaurant is holding our table." She watched as Walter hurriedly straightened up his desk to leave. "Is there something wrong?"_

_"Compliance department has tagged something, $2.6 million withdrawal from one of our Vancouver subsidiaries." He stated._  
  
Unable to help herself, Moira stiffened, which both Slade and Malcolm noticed. She hadn't thought that this would come back up in these memories, or perhaps she had been deluding herself to think so. It had already come up once that she had sabotaged the yacht, but everyone had been so focused on what she had done to Oliver, that no one had heard that part of the memory. For that, she had been grateful; she wasn't sure what Malcolm would do if all his secrets.

She shuddered to think what would happen if the memories revealed Thea's true parentage. All these years, she had been able to convince Malcolm that Thea had been Robert's daughter. It terrified her to think on Malcolm's rage with all these secrets being revealed and what could happen to her if he discovered Thea. 

_A flicker of panic flitted across Moira's face, but she schooled her features before Walter even had a chance to notice. With forced casualness she asked "What-you mean- are you saying that someone embezzled $2.6 million from the company?"_

Malcolm eyed Moira carefully as he wondered what exactly she had done with that money. The fear was clearly written on her face, so she obviously knew what the money had been used for. He would have simply asked, but he doubted for the moment he'd get any real answer. Similar to him, Moira was good at covering her tracks… but she wasn't great though either.

_"Well, it's probably a bookkeeping error, but compliance is understandably worried about an IRS audit." Walter hurriedly grabbed his jacket from a nearby chair. Mistaking his wife's worry, he smiled. "But don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing." He assured her, holding out his arm. "Come on. We're gonna be late. I mean, later!" Moira smiled and took his arm, walking with him out of the office._

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Laurel was perched on Quentin's desk, staring at his board. Front and center was the sketch of The Hood._

Thea snorted. She wasn't a cop, but she didn't think that sketch would be any use to anyone. There weren't that many vigilante's running around with a green hood, so she didn't see the use of sketching that specificially.

" _Well, I wasn't the lead on this," Quentin said, coming back into the squad room carrying the Declan case file, "but from what I recall, we had fingerprints. We had blood. We got motive, everything." He told his daughter, sitting next to her on the desk's edge._

_"Brodeur seems like the type of guy with resources needed to frame someone." Laurel noted. Quentin looked at his daughter._

_"Laurel, in 24 hours, Peter Declan is lying down with a needle in his arm, and he's not getting up." He stated. "If I thought for a second we didn't have the right guy, do you think there's anything else I'd be doing right now except trying to get at what really happened?"_  
  
"And yet you were wrong," Laurel pointed out. Quentin shied away and hung his head. The last thing he ever wanted to think was that he had let the system down and would allow an innocent man to die.

"You'll fix it," her father replied with a smile. He understood his daughter's stubbornness; while he despised to think that she was working with the vigilante, he knew that with her on the case, Peter's life was in good hands. 

_Laurel took the file and looked through it. "Declan said his wife went to her supervisor with allegations that Brodeur was dumping toxic waste." Laurel put in._

_"Yeah, but that supervisor, he said that never happened." He noted. Quentin took back the file and flipped it. "Let me see. What was his name?" he flipped a couple of pages, then pointed. "Here you go. Istook, Matt Istook. He said he didn't even see Camille that day." He looked back at Laurel. "Happy now?"_

"He could have been lying," Tommy pointed out.

"Based on what we've seen, he was," Laurel frowned. She crossed her arms and barely would even look at her father. 

_Laurel clapped him on the leg. "Yes." She said, getting up._

_As she started to leave, Quentin called after her. "You know, I thought it'd be a cold day in hell before you started defending criminals." He said. Laurel turned to him and gave him a tight, lawyer smile._

Quentin could tell when he was in trouble, so he was suddenly glad that he wasn't sharing a seat with his eldest. Then again, he wasn't thrilled either with how close Tommy seemed to be cuddling up to her. He wasn't sure who was worse at this point: Queen and his leather, or Tommy and his rich attitude. He didn't understand why she couldn't simply date a nice guy that he hadn't personally arrested yet.

" _I'm not so sure Declan's a criminal." She replied. "Like you said, he's on a clock. Can't leave any stone unturned." With that, she left. Quentin sighed._

_"Oh, yeah." He muttered, getting back to work._

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger, where Carly was delivering food to Digg. He was seated in a booth, his left arm in a sling._

_"So when are you gonna tell me?" she asked._

_"Hmm?" Digg hummed, not paying attention._

_"About what happened to your arm?" She nodded at the sling. Digg looked up in surprise, then plastered on a confident smile_

_"Oh, it's my shoulder, and it's…its fine." He lied._

_Carly scoffed. "I knew that Queen guy was trouble." She noted._

_"Hey, I never said this happened protecting Queen." Diggle replied._

_"Oh, yeah?" she asked, looking up at the entrance. "Then what's he doing here?"_

_Diggle looked around in surprise to see Oliver walking in, followed closely by Rob._

_"Area is secure, sir." Rob said._

Thea grinned as did Tommy. Laurel rolled her eyes and pursed her lips at the two. "I feel bad for him," she said.

"I'm just shocked he found a way to catch back up to Ollie," Tommy laughed.

_"Thank you very much, Rob." Oliver replied dryly. He walked towards Diggle's booth. "Hello, Diggle's sister-in-law Carly." He said jovially, extending his hand. "I'm Oliver Queen."_

_Carly took it and gave him a curt shake. "I know who you are." She replied, unsmiling._

_"No, you really don't." Digg put in. Oliver sat down and Carly walked off._  
  
The room sombered up quickly again with the realization at how correct this Carly was. None of them knew the real Oliver Queen, not the one that was returning from the island. The only person that could claim to know the scion was Slade, and he didn't care if he was wrong or right. To him, the only good type was Oliver Queen was one that was begging for death. These memories were only helping his plans as he now knew who he could go after to put the pressure on the kid. Perhaps, he'd start with the friend then move onto the sister and finally the girl. Once all three were dead, Slade was certain he'd have made Oliver feel just as he felt when he lost Shado. 

_"Hello." He started. "I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of police cars when I got home. I knew you wouldn't drop a dime on me. So have you considered my offer?"_

_"Offer? Digg scoffed. "That's one hell of a way to put it."_

_"It is an offer. It's a chance to do the kind of good that compelled you to join the military." He tried._

_"Please." Digg shot back. "You were born with a platinum spoon in your mouth, Queen. What, you spent 5 years on an island with no room service, and suddenly you found religion?" he scoffed again, shaking his head._

_Oliver pulled out the small notebook and placed it on the table. "This was my father's." he said, as Diggle gave the book a cursory look. "I found it when I buried him."  
_  
Malcolm needed to relieve Oliver of that notebook; it was one thing when only the scion was using it, but he couldn't allow Oliver to go showing it around. He couldn't risk his plans being interrupted, and unlike Moira's son, he had no familial obligation to Mr. Diggle. If the List was of great use to keeping Oliver out of his way, then perhaps Malcolm would only have to visit Diggle instead.  
 _  
Digg looked up. "I thought you said your father died when the boat went down."_

_"We both made it to a life raft, but there wasn't enough food and water for both of us, so he shot himself in the head." He explained to a shocked Diggle. "And as much as he was doing it to give me a chance to survive, I believe that he was also atoning for his sins. I need to right the wrongs done by my family," he pleaded quietly, "and I'm offering you the chance to right the wrongs done to yours."_  
  
"What is he talking about?" Tommy asked. 

_Digg leaned forward. "Oliver, what are you talking about?"_

_"The police never caught your brother's shooter." Oliver started, but Digg cut him off angrily._

_"Hey, you leave Andy out of this."_

_"The bullets were laced with curare." Oliver continued. "That's Floyd Lawton's M.O. He is the sniper that I stopped." He finished, looking Digg in the eye._  
  
Emotional blackmail was all Malcolm saw; Oliver was finding a way to make Diggle feel obligated to his cause. It was something the eldest Merlyn could appreciate. The tactic would probably would out too based on what Malcolm could gleam from Diggle's facial expressions. There was a sense of relief… something Malcolm was sure he'd feel once he destroyed the Glades. 

_"Are you trying to tell me that you took down Andy's killer?" he asked, disbelievingly._

_"I'm…I'm giving you the chance, a chance to help other people's families." Oliver replied. He looked at the body guard earnestly. "Do you remember when the people in this city helped each other? They can't do that anymore, because a group of people- people like my father- they see nothing wrong with raising themselves up by stepping on other people's throats." Digg sat back, considering his words. "It does need to stop, and if it's not gonna be the courts and it's not gonna be the cops, then it's gonna be me." He stood, taking the notebook. He looked at Diggle. "And, I hope, you." He finished.  
_  
A sense of pride filled Moira with Oliver's words; she never thought she would see this day that her son would be so willing to step up and do something. His father would be so proud as well, and that thought almost brought a tear to her eye. The only thing she wished was that Oliver could have found a way around dressing up as a vigilante at night to do it. 

_Rob walked over to Oliver, who stopped him with a raised hand. "I'm gonna go to the washroom, Rob." He said, then turned and headed to the restrooms. Rob took up position next to Diggle, who was mulling over his words. After a few moments, Digg looked up at the hapless bodyguard._  
  
Tommy shook his head with the realization that Oliver would use this opportunity to ditch his new bodyguard. In this instance, this would have been something Tommy would have done as well. He was thankful that his father had never felt the urge to hire a bodyguard for him; then again, Tommy didn't think his father felt anything for him.

"Oh, that boy's long gone, man." He said. Rob looked up in consternation.

Thea grinned as did Laurel. Moira, on the other hand, tried not to sigh. She was getting the distinct feeling she'd be saving on bodyguard salaries when she returned to her time… or if. They still hadn't been explained to what the real plan for them being here was. It had only been bits and pieces thus far, and while no one thought this was a permanent change of place, it was something Moira couldn't help but dwell on. 

_The scene changed to later that night at Queen Manor, where Walter was busy working on his laptop._

_"You still following the money trail?" Moira asked, coming into the room_

_"Mm-hmm." Walter said absently._

_"Don't we have accountants for that sort of thing?"  
_  
Malcolm leaned in and whispered into Moira's ear, "What did you do?" He watched as she shifted away from him and didn't answer his question. Whatever she had done she didn't want him to know about it, and that meant he'd find out if the memories didn't show it. 

Thea caught her mother moving a few inches away from Mr. Merlyn and pondered what that had been about. Her mother and the Merlyn's had been closer before her father's death, but since the yacht, she rarely saw Mr. Merlyn, and she only saw Tommy at the clubs… that she was too young to be at.   
_  
"They're being singularly ineffective in this instance." Walter noted sourly._

_"Well, then it's fortunate that I've solved the mystery." Moira said with a guilty smile. "I think I'm the culprit." Walter looked up in confusion. Moira perched herself on the edge of the opposite couch and continued. "$2.6 million is a rather specific figure. That's the exact amount the company invested in a friend's start-up venture 3 years ago." Walter chuckled, and Moira smiled. "I will call accounting. They'll clean it all up." She announced. "Then there's nothing to worry about."  
_  
Grinning to himself, Malcolm leaned back. He didn't believe for one second that Walter was just going to let this go. He'd have to do something about that then- a car accident perhaps? Something a bit less uncertain than a yacht sinking, he mused. The only downside with car accidents is one had to be precise or risk being caught… and from what he had seen if Detective Lance even got a sniff of the Undertaking, that would be one more person that would have to be taken care of, else the entire Undertaking would be at risk.

" _Ok." Walter said, smiling back at his wife. Moira turned and left the room, and Walter sat back into the couch, his smile fading to a look of concern._  
  
Inside her own mind, Moira was praying that Walter would just let this go. She knew exactly what Malcolm was capable of, and she wasn't ready to lose another husband. She didn't care if she had to face down Malcolm's enforcer herself; she was not going to lose Walter as she had lost Robert to this insane plan.

_The scene changed to CNRI. Joanna walked up to Laurel, who had her nose buried in a file. "You really are putting a lot of hours into this Declan thing." She noted. "You actually think he's innocent."_

_"Someone does." Laurel replied absently._

_"So you said, but you didn't say who." Laurel looked around, then came up close to Joanna._

_"The guardian angel." She whispered. Joanna's face lit up in comprehension._

_"The guy in the hood?" she exclaimed quietly. "Look, you're- you're kidding…"_

_"He tracked me down and asked me to look into the Declan case." Laurel confided._

_"But you've met him?" Joanna interrupted._

_"But he goes against everything that I was ever taught to believe in." Laurel said. "He breaks the law and God knows what else."_

_"How are you not afraid that he is gonna do God knows what to you?" her friend demanded. Laurel shook her head._

_"He won't." she said confidently. "I don't know. I can feel it."  
_  
Laurel groaned as she realized just how terrible that sounded. Somehow even with the hood on, Oliver did as he always did with her. She repeated to herself all the terrible things he had done to five years prior; she couldn't get herself wrapped under his spell again.

Shifting in his seat, Tommy caught a glance of Laurel's face. He needed to find a way to compete with Oliver like this or just give up. However for five years, he had pinned after her, and he didn't want her to get hurt in Oliver's crusade.

"He shouldn't have involved you," Tommy said, face betraying his hurt.

Before Laurel could respond, Quentin nodded in agreement. Seeing the two men against her, Laurel huffed but didn't otherwise say anything. 

" _You know, when I told you to meet someone, this is far, far away from what I meant." Joanna remarked. Laurel just shrugged her shoulders._

_The scene changed to a rooftop later that night, where Laurel stood across from The Hood._  
  
"That cannot be safe," Tommy said stunned. "What happens if someone finds out you're working with him that has a vendetta against him?" He felt a tad terrible knowing that half of his words were born out of jealous and the other half out of pure concern.

"You cannot meet with him like that," Quentin growled. "I forbid you from working with Queen!"

Laurel snapped, "I'm doing my job. Exactly as you taught me to do. Peter Declan is innocent, and apparently, the only one in this room that cares besides me is Oliver."

"You're breaking the law," Quentin argued back. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"I'll do what I have to to get fair justice," she growled. The room became tense, and Slade leaned back ready to watch the fight.

"Then you come to me!" the Detective continued.

Artemis stepped forward thinking she'd have to break this up if there was any hope of continuing the memories. In her earpiece, she heard the Canary mutter something about coming in, and she immediately and accidently growled loudly, "Laurel stop." Everyone snapped to look at the archer, and Artemis continued a bit more quietly, "After this memory… please. Then we can talk."

_"I got your message." She called across the room. "Is there a reason we can't do this face to face?"_

_"You've met with Peter Declan." He ignored her question._

_"You were right." She said, walking closer to him. He stubbornly kept his face out of direct view. "He might be innocent. Declan said his wife blew the whistle on Brodeur the day she was murdered."_

_Oliver paced past Laurel, keeping his face as concealed as possible. "Then we need to get whoever she told about Brodeur to testify." He determined._  
  
Malcolm frowned at Oliver's antics at keeping his identity secret. Quentin voiced his concern about it first, "How has he not been caught yet with wearing just a hood and grease paint?" The disbelief in his voice amused Thea and to a degree his daughter. They could tell he was talking about himself and not the others. The costume to conceal his identity wasn't all that great, but thus far, it had done a good enough job. They couldn't exactly complain then.

_"He already has." Laurel replied. "Matt Istook, Camille's supervisor. Only, he says that she didn't say a word to him."_

_"He could be lying." Oliver said._

_"Well, if he is, then he's very convincing. He had the jury and police believing him."_

_"He hasn't been questioned by me." Oliver said harshly._

_"I didn't become a lawyer to break the law or hurt anybody." Laurel argued._

_"I do what's necessary, what people like Peter Declan need." Oliver stated plainly._

_"If what you're doing isn't wrong, then why are you hiding your face with a hood?" Laurel countered._

_"To protect the ones I care about." The Hood replied softly.  
_  
Thea, Laurel, Tommy, and Moira knew that when Oliver said that he was referring to them. They couldn't imagine what would happen if someone discovered who Oliver was; they'd each be in danger. "He needs a better mask," Thea noted quietly. "If he's so worried about someone discovering him, I mean…"

" _That sounds lonely."_

_"It can be." He agreed, his tone hardening "But not today." With that, he shot an arrow at a neighboring building and jumped off the roof, swinging away on the line that had been attached as Laurel looked on in astonishment.  
_  
"And he knows how to make an exit," Tommy joked knowing earlier they had teased about how Ollie had a tendency for an entrance marked with flair. The room's tension melted a bit with that, but not to any massive degree. Everyone was still on edge, and no one looked thrilled to be locked in this room anymore.   
__  
The scene shifted to later that night at Queen Consolidated. The elevator opened on the empty executive floor, and Felicity stalked off and headed towards Walter's office. Without knocking, she barged in and confronted the man, who was sitting behind his desk.

_"I've got one question. Why am I being fired?" she demanded._

_"Ms. Smoak, isn't it?" he clarified._

_"Yes." She responded, and then pressed on. "And I am without a doubt the single most valuable member of your technical division. That's including my so-called 'supervisor'. Letting me go would be a major error for this company."_

_"I agree, which is why you're not being fired." Walter replied calmly, bringing Felicity up short. The righteous indignation died.  
_  
Mentally, Moira made a note to check out this Felicity Smoak when she returned. If this was someone her husband trusted, then she wanted to know every single detail about this girl. Then, there was the fact she might have to protect this girl from Malcolm. She knew what would happen explicitly if he thought she was a threat to his Undertaking.   
__  
"Uh, I assumed when you brought me up here, it was because-" she drew her thumb across her throat, miming her throat being slit.

_"It's because I wanted you to look into something for me." Walter said, handing Felicity a folder. She took it at once. "A variance of $2.6 million on a failed investment from 3 years ago. It was authorized by my wife. I was hoping you could find out some of the details of the transaction for me."_

_"Find out…" Felicity looked up from the folder at Walter._

_"Dig up discreetly." He said, giving her a look._  
  
"This could be a problem Moira," Malcolm whispered into her ear. "I hope you're learning a different way to deal with this… before our associate has to." The threat hanging over her head now, Moira tried not to shudder at the thought of what the Dark Archer would do to her husband… and now this poor girl Walter had unknowingly dragged in.

_Felicity smiled. "I'm your girl." She said, turning to leave. She paused on the way out and turned back to Walter. "I mean, I'm not your girl. I wasn't making a pass at you." She clarified. Walter gave her a thin smile. "Thank you for not firing me." She said as she walked out the door. Walter leaned back in his chair, a look on his face that screamed 'What an odd girl'._

_The scene changed to a parking lot, as Matt Istook turned off the alarm for his Porsche 911. He put his bag in the passenger seat and opened the door to get in, when he felt a sudden sting at the back of his neck. He reached back, and pulled free a dart. He looked at it, uncomprehending. "What the…" he started, before the tranquilizer took effect and he passed out._

_When he awoke, he was laying on a set of railroad tracks. Blearily he started to sit up, reaching up to rub his face. His arm jerked to a stop and he stared, seeing the handcuff that chained him to the rail.  
_  
This peaked Slade's interest. Thus far, the only joy he got from these memories was the pain it caused Oliver's family, and to watch how far Oliver had fallen from being that playboy that washed up on the island. He considered how much the kid had retained from Slade's teachings, and thus far, it looked as though the mercenary had left his mark on the kid, and not just physically.

" _Matt Istook."_

_He looked up in alarm to see The Hood standing there, bow in hand, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood._

_"You're him, that hood guy." He observed. "You're the guy that's been terrorizing the city."_

_"Peter Declan, your lies helped put him on death row." He snarled. A train whistle sounded in the near distance. "Now, either it's time to tell me the truth, or it's time for the 10:15 to Blüdhaven."_  
  
"He wouldn't," Tommy said in surprise. Laurel gripped Tommy's hand with the realization that she had practically sent Ollie to do this… if this man died… that'd be on her head.

"He would," Malcolm said a breath later. Tommy and Laurel stared at Malcolm, but his interest had already been diverted back to the television. From what Oliver had done thus far, Malcolm was certain that the train was in fact coming and Oliver wouldn't even blink if that meant killing Istook. It wouldn't exactly be a loss on the city either…

_"O-ok. Ok, I—" he stuttered, seeing the train closing in on them far behind the Hood. "Brodeur paid me to…to say that Camille never spoke to me, but I didn't have anything to do with her death." The train grew closer. "Oh, God, please. I'll do anything." He pleaded. "Y-you could have the file!"_

_"What file?" The Hood demanded._

_"Camille gave me a file of evidence against Jason Brodeur." The train grew larger behind the Hood._

_"Where is it?!" The hood demanded._

_"Let me go, and I'll tell you!" Istook pleaded. The Hood ignored his pleas and walked past him, leaving him to the approaching train.  
_  
Laurel gasped and tried to hide her terror. Even Quentin felt terrible for his daughter; he understood the responsible feeling she was obviously being washed over by. He wanted to tell her that Queen's actions were not tied to her own, but he could tell that she wanted nothing to do with him currently.

" _Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't go! It's in my desk! The file, it's in my desk at the office! You can have it!" The train was mere feet in front of him. "Get me out of here!" Suddenly an arrow broke the cuff, and Istook threw himself to the side off the tracks, just as the train whizzed by._  
  
Letting out the breath she had been holding, Laurel leaned over and leaned her head on Tommy's shoulder. His arm wrapped around her, comforting her, much to Thea's dismay. 

_Oliver watched the sobbing man through the passing train cars, and remembered when he once begged._

_The scene flashed back to Lian Yu. In the cave, Yao Fei was cooking a rat on a stick. Oliver, near delirious with hunger, took notice._

_"What is that?" he asked wearily, crawling over to the man who sat stoically in front of the fire. "I'm so hungry. It smells really good." He reached a hand out towards the cooking rat-_

_And Yao Fei's hand suddenly lashed out, grabbing and twisting Oliver's hand away. With a shove he sent the boy crashing to the floor of the cave._

_"Aah!" Oliver exclaimed, more in surprise than in pain. "Hey, fine. Don't share."_

_Yao Fei grunted. He looked at the boy, then pointed to the bird. He mimed ringing the bird's neck. "Shengcún." He repeated._

_Oliver looked at the bird, then back at Yao Fei. "I'm not gonna kill the bird." He said, indignant._

_The Asian man just stared back, and popped a bit of cooked rat into his mouth. "Shengcún." He said once more._  
  
"He would let Ollie starve? Why help him then?" Thea asked incredulous.

"He wants the kid to help himself," Slade explained not wanting to hear the youngest Queen whine and complain any longer. When she went to ask him another question, he glared her into silence. The island was not meant for the weak, and Slade could only imagine how long this girl would last if she had been stranded… a day if she was lucky.

_Back in the present, Laurel was working late at CNRI. Alone in the office, she was startled when the lights suddenly went out. She glanced around nervously, and then jumped slightly when a file folder landed on her desk. Tentatively, she picked it up and gave it a cursory look._

_"Compliments of Matt Istook." The Hood said from across the room._

_"What's in here?" she asked._

_"Leverage on Jason Brodeur, enough to help save Peter Declan's life."_

_Laurel looked through the file. "As an attorney, I never would have gotten a file like this." She looked up at The Hood. "I always thought the law was sacred, I-it fixed everything." She explained._

_"And now, Laurel?" he asked. "Now what do you think?"_  
  
Laurel shifted in her seat uncomfortably. The file was fantastic, but to see how he had obtained it made her sick to her stomach. She didn't want to be responsible for another man's death, and Malcolm had sounded so sure that Oliver would have let Istook die… she couldn't help but believe it too. 

Internally, she was so torn. On one hand, she could now save a man's life, but on the other, she had almost cost another man his. The law had always been black and white- that's how she had been raised. Now, she was beginning to see this gray area that she had never noticed before.

_"I think there are too many people in this city who only care about themselves… people who are selfish. I think they need someone who cares about the lives of other people someone like you." She looked back down at the file to study it some more. Suddenly the lights came back on, and she looked up to see The Hood had vanished._

_The scene shifted back to Queen Manor, where Oliver came in. He was smiling, observing the pictures on the small table by the door._  
  
Unlike some of the others, Thea wasn't having a conflict of conscience, not to the depth of the others. She didn't like seeing her brother kill and threaten people; however as she watched her brother smile, that made her feel content herself. "He looks… happier." She couldn't help but point this out since thus far they hadn't seen much that would indicate that Ollie was glad to be free from that island.

_"Oh, my God." A familiar voice said. He looked up to see Thea standing there. "What is wrong with your face?" she asked._

_"What do you mean?" Oliver replied, worried that some of the grease paint was still over his eyes. Her next words dispelled his fears and caused a broad grin to break out on his face_

_"There's something really weird on it, like this thing with your mouth." She said, grinning herself. "It…it looks like it's in the shape of a smile." She teased._

_"That's cute." He said._

_"So why are you grinning?" Thea asked._

_"I took your advice with Laurel to be myself." He said simply. "And it's helping."_

Quentin groaned to Thea, "You just had to give him that advice didn't you?"

"Can't he be himself without wearing the hood?" Tommy asked a second later. 

Malcolm frowned at his son's naivety. Similar to himself, Oliver had to wear a mask around everyone else in their normal schedules; it was only when they were alone could they actually drop the act. Oliver felt no obligation to pretending while he was under the hood, and that was something Malcolm could attest to as well. 

_Thea grinned triumphantly. "Got mad relationship skills, bro." she said. "Let me know if you need trendy places to propose."_

_"I think you're getting a little bit ahead of yourself." He said. She looked at him slyly, and he held up his thumb and forefinger, pinching them together. "Little bit."_

_The front door burst opened, and Rob strolled in wearily, his jacket over his arm and a defeated expression on his face. "Rob." Oliver smiled. "You gotta keep up." He said, heading for his room, leaving the broken man behind._

While Tommy was perturbed over what he just saw between Oliver and Thea, he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Rob coming in late to the show. "You think he'd learn," he chuckled.

"Or quit," Thea added, hoping to get more conversations out of Tommy. She could see the forlorn look on his face whenever he glanced towards Laurel, and she felt terrible that Laurel didn't seem to notice at all. With how things were proceeding on screen, she wouldn't be shocked when her brother and Laurel ended back together… and when that happened, perhaps she should be close enough to give Tommy a shoulder to cry on. After all these years, she couldn't help but feel some attraction to the boy that had helped to watch over her all those years Ollie had been not dead but on an island.

_The scene shifted to the next day at CNRI. Quentin Lance hurriedly walked in, heading straight for Laurel, who was busily typing away. "Hey, you look busy." He stated. "Is that the Declan case? You know, it was a funny development on that. Matt Istook." He noted, "He, uh, filed a police report. He said The Hood harassed him last night." He looked at Laurel. "And that's funny, because I gave my daughter Istook's name."_

_"Dad-" she started, but Quentin cut her off. "He's a vigilante." He snarled. "He's a damn criminal, and you working with him, that makes you an accessory!"_  
  
Laurel glared towards her father, "If you had done your job, I wouldn't have to work with him."

"You'd work with him anyway if you knew it was Queen!" Quentin snapped. The fight looked more than ready to escalate when Artemis stepped between the chairs, effectively cutting their line of sight to one another. 

Artemis didn't care if the Lance's wanted to yell at each other, but she did want to get this memory done. That would never happen if Roy had to keep pausing it to let them shout at each other. For now, Artemis would stand in place, but once the memory was done, she'd let them get it all out of their system. 

_"I am trying to save an innocent man's life." Laurel argued._

_"No. You're breaking the law."_

_"Well, I wouldn't have to if the police would have done their job right in the first place." She shot back. Quentin looked stricken._

_"I asked you how you got this case." He started. "You lied to me straight to my face, eh? I thought you and I didn't do that." He gave her one last look. "Guess I was wrong." he finished, turning and walking out of the building._  
  
While father and daughter were more than angry with each other, they reluctantly and properly flinched at the end of that scene. Both glanced towards the ground. Sara's death had crushed them both, and they were obviously still struggling to overcome old feelings on it- which Oliver, masked and unmasked, was not helping with.

_The scene shifted to the courthouse, where Laurel was arguing her case before Judge Moss._

_"The mere existence of the file proves that Mr. Istook perjured himself for Jason Brodeur's benefit." She was arguing._

_"That's slander." A voice cut her off. She turned to see Brodeur, with his lawyer and two bodyguards, walk in the room. "Jared Swanstrom, Your Honor." The man who spoke said. "I represent Jason Brodeur and Brodeur Chemical."_

_"The interest of justice requires you to stay the defendant's execution pending exploration of the newly discovered evidence." Laurel continued, ignoring the new people in the room._

_Judge Moss looked at Laurel evenly. "Ours isn't a court of justice, Ms. Lance." She stated. "It's a court of law, and under the law, I don't think your evidence is sufficient to warrant a stay of execution. Your motion for habeas corpus is denied." She finished, returning to her paperwork. Laurel turned and walked out. Before she left, though, she stopped in front of Brodeur._  
  
"That's bull!" Thea snapped. "Does the judge not care about the fact they could be executing an innocent man's life?" She had never really noticed the scum that existed throughout each aspect of the political world, so unlike the others, the fact this happened shocked her. The others were only saddened by what had occurred as it wasn't that shocking.

"The judge is more than likely in Brodeur's pocket," Malcolm explained.

"But that's not fair," Thea frowned.

"Sometimes it isn't," Laurel said sadly glancing past Artemis to her father. Quentin nodded solemnly in agreement; there had been a lot of criminals in the past few years that had either gotten off scott-free for terrible crimes or had spent little time in jail. In Starling City, the crime did not fit the punishment when those had pockets or people they knew had deep pockets.

_"This isn't over." She said defiantly. "I've got the loose end now, and no matter what happens, I am going to pull on it until your whole world unravels." She threatened, walking out and leaving a very worried Brodeur behind._

"That Ms. Lance was a dangerous move," Malcolm warned. Moira could only whole-heartedly agree. Brodeur would not take a threat kindly, and he did have the sort of money to permanently quiet the lawyer.

"Can we go a day where you aren't putting yourself in harm's way?" Quentin frowned. He clasped his hands together hoping that the next scene wouldn't involve someone plotting to kill his last daughter. 

_The scene changed to Brodeur's office later that day, where the businessman was worriedly ranting to his bodyguard. "Declan's lawyer's pulling me into this!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna go to prison, if not for murder, then this- this dumping thing."_

_"That won't happen." The bodyguard assured him. "There are steps we can take."_

_"You saw her." He argued. "She's going after me."_

_The bodyguard sighed. "She's gonna want to meet with her client after what happened in court today. We have friends up in Iron Heights. Prison can be a dangerous place." He remarked calmly._  
  
Laurel sat up straight, but she felt less terror than she had when she had seen the triad come after her. She accepted her job had dangerous risks, and she would always be willing to take them if that meant saving her client. Then, in the back of her mind, she couldn't quiet the whisper of 'Oliver will protect you.' He wouldn't let any harm come to her… but that was only if he got to her in time.

_The scene changed to later that night, where Laurel was meeting with the Hood on the roof of CNRI._

_"We're not done yet." The Hood stated._

_"I'm an attorney." Laurel countered with a sigh. "Trust me. We're done."  
_  
Malcolm wondered in what world Laurel was living in if she thought that the vigilante would give up on his mission. Unlike her, Oliver was not an attorney, and based on what the elder Merlyn had seen thus far, the law was something the emerald archer did not mind stepping around to do what was needed. The hanging question, of course, was: would it be enough?   
__  
"What do you need to free Peter Declan?" he asked.

_"At this point, nothing short of a signed confession from Brodeur." The Hood turned to leave. "Where are you going?" she asked._

_"To get a confession." He replied._  
  
Groaning, Laurel tried not to think of what exactly Oliver would do to get said confession. "I hope there aren't any more trains running," she muttered to herself. This entire memory had her on whiplash: sometimes she was grateful for Oliver's help and other times she was terrified she had just sent him to terrorize people. Criminals or not, she wasn't sure anyone deserved the sort of justice Oliver seemed practiced at delivering. 

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Felicity was filling Walter in on what she found._

_"The company Mrs. Queen- or Steele." She paused, a stray thought catching her attention, "Mrs. Queen-Steele. Does she hyphenate? She seems like a woman who would hyphenate." Walter cleared his throat and sat back at his desk, looking at her expectantly. "Right. The company she invested in doesn't exist."_

_"I don't understand." Walter said, confused._

_"There was no investment." Felicity explained. "The money was used to set up an offshore LLC called Tempest."_  
  
"Mom?" Thea voiced, but when she glanced over to Moira, she noticed her mother had her face buried in one hand. She caught Malcolm staring at her mother, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Moira," Malcolm echoed quietly a moment later.

"Don't," she whispered furiously under her breath. "Not now." She glanced towards Mr. Merlyn and met his glare. Right now, she was reaching a point of exhaustion, and she was beginning to lose any patience with the man next to her. The day and all the events were wearing on her.

_"I don't recall that name being under the Queen Consolidated banner." He remarked._

_"'Cause it's not." She replied. "There's nothing registered with the Secretary of State, no federal tax records, no patent applications filed. But in 2009, Tempest purchased a warehouse in Starling City." She handed the folder to Walter, who smiled in gratitude. Felicity smiled and left as Walter looked over the file._  
  
Malcolm backed off, but he wasn't about to let this drop. If the memory didn't reveal what this Tempest was, he'd be speaking with Moira at length about it later. He could wait, of course, until they were out of earshot of at least the companions. He had the distinct feeling there was no true solitariness on this Watchtower. 

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger, where Diggle was once again eating. Carly came up to him._

_"Enough moping." She stated. Diggle smiled at her as she took a seat across from him. "You quit. It's done. My advice would be to move on."_

_"Well, if it were only that easy." Dig said, rubbing his face._

_"Except it is." Carly said. "Personal security is dangerous. Your nephew already lost his father. He can't lose his uncle, too."_

_Dig thought for a long moment. "Does it ever bother you," he began, "that they never caught the guy who killed Andy?" He paused, gathering his thoughts. "You know, when I was in Afghanistan, I had a job, and I did it. And when I could, I would help out the people there so that, in some small way, when I left, I could believe I left it a better place." He sighed. "But ever since I've been home, all I do is protect punks and spoiled one percenters."_  
  
Slade could recognize a man torn, and he saw that it wouldn't take much for Diggle to change his mind and join Oliver. In terms of his plan, while it would be easier to keep the kid as separated as possible, Slade saw an opportunity in having Diggle help the kid. It would hurt all the more when Slade ripped his partner away; it'd hurt the most if he could convince this Diggle to join him. Better than anyone, Slade understood the pain when one brother turned on another.

_Carly smiled. "Yeah."_

_"I miss feeling like I'm making a difference in the world." He announced, seeming to just come to the realization._

_"Then get out of personal security and go do something you believe in." Carly said._

_"Yeah, what if it's wrong?" he countered._

_"John, if you believe in something, how can it be wrong?" she asked simply.  
_  
Slade and Malcolm unknowingly smirked at the same time. Diggle was in, even if he didn't realize it just yet. 

_The scene changed to Brodeur's office, where the businessman was being held at arrow-point by The Hood._  
  
"Oh no," Laurel complained. This confession was even more coerced than the last; she wondered how she'd get this to fly in court. It wasn't like she could call the vigilante to the stand to defend his methods, and very few judges would take this as anything but a miscarriage of justice.

_"What do you want?" he asked fearfully._

_"You're gonna confess that you arranged to have Peter Declan's wife murdered." The Hood growled._

_"What, so I can take his place in prison?"_

_"So you can avoid the death penalty."_

_"Except if I'm dead, well, then, you've got no one to pin Camille's murder on." Brodeur realized, confidence slowly returning. "You need me to exonerate Peter Declan. Maybe you could try to force me to sign a confession or something-" his boasting cut off with a scream as The Hood shot an arrow through his hand.  
_  
Tommy's face paled, and he unconsciously rubbed his hand. He tried not to imagine the pain that would be caused due to a wound like that. His body shuddered at how far Oliver was truly willing to go for his cause; he hoped silently that Diggle would join if only to try and keep Oliver a bit more contained. Across the room, his father was thoroughly amused by Oliver's methodology.

" _That might be difficult." The Hood remarked._

_Bordure was saved by the bell, literally, as his phone began to ring. The Hood walked over and pulled the phone out of his jacket. "Just answer it." He connected the call._

_"What?" Brodeur said, pain in his voice._

_"It's Ankov." His bodyguard said over the phone. "It's going down, one hour." The Hood snarled and hung up the phone._

_"What's going down in an hour?" he demanded. "What?!"_

_"Let's just say Peter Declan's execution, it's getting moved up." Brodeur replied. Oliver hit him with the bow, knocking him out._  
  
"At least he didn't kill him," Laurel said weakly.

"If he had the time, he would have Ms. Lance," Slade said truthfully. Scum like Brodeur didn't deserve a second chance, and it spoke volumes at how Oliver prioritize things. Laurel and the innocent man meant more than killing Brodeur.

_The scene changed to Iron Heights, where Laurel was talking with Declan._

_"We still have a shot." Laurel was telling him. "Do you remember the friend that I mentioned, the one who believes in you? He is working on something."_

_Outside, The Hood put a guard in a sleeper hold, knocking him out. He then quickly stripped the guard and started to put on the uniform._

__Quentin leaned forward, praying that his little girl would be okay again… if only thanks to Oliver Queen. However in this particular situation, the Detective couldn't ignore that Oliver had dragged her into this in the first place.

_""I told you, Jason Brodeur is powerful." Declan told Laurel._

_At a back door, a guard opened it to reveal Ankov, Brodeur's bodyguard. Ankov handed the guard an envelope and took a bundle of clothes from him. "Time to unlock the cages." He said._

_"I've been here before." Declan continued. "These lawyers holding out these little nuggets of hope."_

_And then the lights went out, alarms started blaring, and the shouting began as Declan and Laurel looked on helplessly. The guard in the room was listening to his radio.  
_  
"You know Detective Lance," Moira began, "my son who you're so desperate to stop is again the one you're hoping will save Laurel."

"She shouldn't even be in that prison," Quentin replied unwilling to let go of the fact Oliver had pulled his daughter into this mess.

"Oliver or not, I would have done whatever I could have to help Peter had I known he was innocent," Laurel pointed out. "Oliver only informed me of that fact."

_'Secure all corners in cell block "C".' he looked to Laurel. "The warden's setting up a secure perimeter in "C" block." He said. "Stay here, Ms. Lance." He ordered, leaving the room.  
_  
"You're not going to listen," Quentin groaned to himself.

"Nope," Laurel said triumphantly.

"Wish I had," Canary muttered into Artemis's earpiece much to the elder Thea's amusement.   
__  
"Wait!" Laurel yelled. She looked out the door and saw prisoners running through the halls, jumping guards. Making a decision, she gestured to Declan and the two fled the visitors' room. They ran down a hall and landed in a juncture filled with prisoners. She watches as the beat a guard unconscious. One of the goons looked up.

_"There's Lance." He said, picking up the guards gun. Before he could point it at her, an arrow hit him in the shoulder, sending him to the ground. Laurel turned to see a disguised Hood, wearing a guards uniform with a ski mask, holding his bow._

_"Let's go."_

Both Tommy and Laurel breathed a bit easier seeing Oliver had arrived in time to protect Laurel. Quentin wanted to both thank and arrest Queen nonetheless.

_He led them back into the hall, stopping briefly only to beat back some of the prisoners to give them room. "Go!" he called out, leading them down the hall. At the far end he saw cops with riot shields moving in formation towards them. He steered them to an open doorway. "In here."_

_The three entered the room, The Hood leading the way. Suddenly The Hood was sucker punched by Ankov, who sent him sprawling to the ground, dazed. Next the muscle grabbed Laurel, throwing her into a chain link fence that portioned the room, and then flung her back to the floor. She hit hard, dazed, and Ankov got on top of her, putting his hands around her throat.  
_  
Laurel touched her neck gently as she watched herself being killed on screen. Tommy gripped her hand tightly and shot her a reassuringly smile. "Oliver's there. He won't let anything happen to you," he said truthfully.

_Oliver cleared his head and looked over. Seeing Laurel being choked, he saw red and launched himself at Ankov, tackling him off the lawyer. He started throwing elbows and forearms at the bodyguards face, not stopping, not letting up. Laurel shakily got to her feet and staggered over, placing a hand on his arm. "Stop!" she said hoarsely, Oliver shot up, backing away from her and slowly coming back to his senses. Before anything else could happen, though, the riot cops entered. Laurel immediately back to the wall._  
  
Slade was suddenly reminded of that time Shado had been kidnapped by those men on the Amazo. Back then, Oliver hadn't stopped until the man was dead. He was taken aback by the fact that this Laurel had gotten through that haze to probably save Ankov's life. Shado had only been able to snap Oliver out of it by grabbing him and dragging him from the dead body.

Pale and shaking, Laurel tried not to focus on what she just focused. It was one thing to see a controlled Oliver take a life but quite another to see the animal that had just flashed on the screen. "He would have killed him if I hadn't…" Tommy hugged her, one arm wrapped around her shoulder.

The Detective almost wanted to take the opportunity to point out how right he had been about Queen, but the words wouldn't come. And he knew why… if he had been in Queen's place, he wouldn't have stopped.

_"Laurel." He whispered brokenly as Declan and Ankov were secured. Then he faded into the background, mixing in among the other guards and making his way out of the prison._

_The scene changed to later outside the entrance to Iron Heights. Laurel was seated on the hood of a police car as Quentin ran up to her._

_"Laurel" he called out, breathless, pulling her into a hug, "Sweetie. What are you-" he started._

_"I'm all right." Laurel cut him off._

_"You sure?"_

_"I'm sorry about what I said to you." She said. Quentin sighed._

_"Yeah, well, you were right." He told her. "Ankov just confessed to Camille Declan's murder. We got the wrong guy." He finished sadly. The he looked at his daughter. "Now, listen to me, Laurel. I'm right, too, about him. He's dangerous. He's outside the law."_  
  
"And you wouldn't have gotten that confession without him," Thea defended, though, she too was a bit shaken by what she had just seen. Her brother had always been so precise up until now, and this was a blatant reminder that he was only human. He could just as easily be swayed by his emotions.

Something Malcolm could see needed to be changed. The emotional bond Oliver had to Laurel was something any intelligent person could exploit, Malcolm included. 

_"I know." She said, surprising him. "He's a killer." From the roof of the prison, Oliver watched Laurel and Quentin talk. He pulled off the ski mask as she continued. "He would have killed that man. I looked in his eyes—it was like he had no remorse."_

_Oliver closed his eyes in pain, and once more the scene flashed back to the cave.  
_  
"Harsh," Thea muttered.

"He would have killed him," Laurel whispered, but she too could see her flawed logic. She had known exactly what sort of man the vigilante was, and to know that she had been the reason that Oliver had almost killed not one but three different men… She wasn't sure what to think.

_Oliver stared at the bird in the cage, and then looked back up at Yao Fei. "Hey, please." He pleaded. "I'm starving. I never killed anything before." The man continued to ignore him. Oliver looked back at the bird, and slowly he took it out of the cage. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He looked up at the ceiling of the cave as he put his hand around the bird's neck and twisted, snapping the spine and killing the bird. Yao Fei glanced at him, before he went back to work on making new traps._  
  
This was a monumental moment. They each saw the exact moment Oliver had begun to let go of his old life and start this one anew. To see Oliver take his first life, bird or not, was heartbreaking for both Queens, Laurel, and Tommy. Malcolm was content to see the beginning of the man that would return to Starling City. Finally, Slade had only kept wishing that Yao Fei had let Oliver starve.

_Back in the present, Quentin put his jacket on Laurel. "Let's get you home, sweetie." He said, walking with her back to his car. "How'd he get into that prison, anyway, huh?" he asked suddenly, stopping and looking at Laurel. "A grown man in an outfit and a hood, that kind of stands out a little, doesn't it?"_

_"He actually wasn't wearing the outfit this time." Laurel said. "He was in a prison guard uniform and a ski mask." Quentin looked at her, and then looked away, thinking. "What?" she asked._

_Quentin shook his head and smiled. "Nothing." He said. "I just had an idea." He opened the door to his cruiser. "Get in the car." He said. Laurel got in and Lance closed the door, still thinking.  
_  
Lance could tell what his other self was thinking, and he tried not to grin. He had Queen; there was no way that Oliver could wiggle his way out of this one. He ignored the inkling in the back of his mind telling him if this plan had worked, there would be no Watchtower… but he didn't care. His little girl had been threatened and dragged into this entire mess- almost killing her. He'd enjoy at least arresting Queen, short time or no.

_The scene shifted to an isolated warehouse. Walter walked up to the door. He tried it, but found it locked. He then looked at the electronic keypad. He thought for a few moments, then typed in TEMPEST. It buzzed, indicating wrong code. The screen cleared, and Walter nest tried Oliver. It buzzed again. He tried Thea, and it buzzed again. He thought for a moment, pausing only briefly as he typed ROBERT. The pad beeped and the door opened. He hesitantly walked inside. Opening the inside door, he was greeted by a pitch black expanse. He spied some light switches on the wall next to him and flipped them. As the lights came on, he found himself on a catwalk twenty feet above the floor of the warehouse- and laid out before him was the wreckage of the Queen's Gambit._  
  
Thea climbed to her feet, her eyes wide in shock. Moira could feel Malcolm's eyes baring into her back, but she refused to meet his gaze She had done what she needed to to keep her family safe, and that included leverage against one Malcolm Merlyn.

"I don't… How?" Thea practically whispered staring at her mother. A hand on her shoulder caused her to jump, but when she turned, she saw it was only Artemis. The archer indicated the seat. "No… I want to know what the hell that was."

"And you will," Artemis said reassuringly. "But first let's finish this. So sit." The last part was a barely concealed warning, one that Thea hesitantly followed.

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Lance, Hilton and the computer expert Kelton were looking at his screens as he pulled up footage._

_"Ok, here's the security footage from the Exchange building shooting," Kelton said, "but I've already scrubbed through all of it."_

_"Yeah? Well, we're gonna do it again." Lance stated. "So, listen, when you went through the camera security tapes, you were looking for a guy in a green outfit and a green hood, right?" he asked._

_"What do you want me to look for, a man in a wig and a tutu?" Kelton said sarcastically._

_"I want you to look for anything that's out of the ordinary, ok?" the detective replied irritably. "Just look." The three cops watched for a few minutes before something caught Lance's eye. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." He said, getting their attention. He pointed to one of the monitors. "Wait. Go back 10 seconds." He did so, and as the footage rewound, Lance saw an easily recognizable Oliver Queen pulling a duffle bag out of a trashcan, and extracting a hood from the bag.  
_  
Slade tried not to roll his eyes- at both whatever was going on in the Queen family and the fact the Detective thought for a moment Oliver did something on accident. If Oliver was caught on camera, even Slade had to begrudgingly admit, that the kid had planned to be caught. 

Quentin smirked, "Got him."

"Only because he wanted you to," Malcolm warned. But when he was stared at for further explanation, he left it be and continued to glance warily at Moira. He did not like to think that she had drudged up the boat as a way to keep him in line, but he was not foolish enough to not consider that opportunity. In her shoes, he would have done the same thing, but he had thought they had a deeper bond of trust than that. 

" _What is that?" Kelton asked. Quentin leaned forward._

_"I'll be damned." He said. "Play that again."_

_The scene changed to the next day, where Laurel was walking with Peter Declan through the park._

_"Thank you, Laurel." Declan said sincerely._

_"Don't thank me." She countered with a smile. "Thank Brodeur's bodyguard Ankov for flipping him." She looked over to a bench, where an elderly woman and a small child were waiting. "I think there's someone that wants to see you."_

_"Izzy." Declan breathed, looking at his baby girl. The girl, hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence ran to her father, who knelt down and took her in his arms, crying tears of joy._  
  
For everything that the memory had shown thus far, this, to Laurel, was still worth it all. To see an innocent man hug his daughter, as a free man, again was beyond worth all the hell she had just seen her other self go through. When she got back, she planned on immediately taking up Declan's case and getting him freed. 

_The scene changed to the lair, where Oliver was watching a news broadcast of Brodeur being led away in handcuffs. 'At least 5 federal, state, and local agencies are seeking millions of dollars in fines and environmental cleanup costs from Brodeur Chemical. New facts have come to light that Brodeur Chemical employee Camille Declan had discovered Brodeur was illegally disposing waste and had collected a file of evidence against her employer before her murder in 2007. Peter Declan, who was convicted of killing his wife, has been released, and the case has been reopened."_

_He crossed Brodeur's name off the list, then looked sadly at Laurel's picture. He put it back in the book and closed it as he thought back to the island._  
  
"Just how many names are in this List?" Tommy pondered. It was such a thick book, and he tried to calculate how long it would take Oliver to actually work his way through it.

_Flashback to the cave, where Oliver is now eating cooked pheasant. Yao Fei walked in and sat across from him._

_"Shengcún." He said. Oliver nodded._

_"Yeah." He said, a mouth full of pheasant. "Bird. I know."_

_"Shengcún not mean 'bird'." Oliver looked up in shock. "Shengcún mean 'survive'."_

_"You speak English." Oliver asked incredulously._

_"You want survive this place, bird not last thing you kill." He pulled Laurel's picture out from his shirt. "And forget her." He advised. "You look at that all day, you not survive this place."  
_  
It would have been amusing to some of the people watching that this Yao Fei spoke English if not for how somber his words struck each of them. 'Bird not last thing you kill'. The words rang true with what they had seen thus far. The island had forged Oliver anew, and it crushed a majority of the room to realize how much of the old Oliver they had lost. It wasn't that they hated this new Oliver… but they were beginning to see how much of the old one they would miss.

_The scene shifted to the present. Moira walked up to a limo and climbed inside. "You wanted to see me?" she asked, looking across to Malcolm Merlyn._  
  
"Dad…" Tommy began, uncertain as to how he felt seeing his father finally in these memories. Malcolm ignored his son though and watched intently- would this meeting be about the List or about the boat? He wanted to catch every word.

_"You look nervous, Moira." He noted. She hummed noncommittally._

_"Do I have a reason to be?" she asked._

_"We all do." Malcolm pulled out the sketch of The Hood and handed it to her. She looked at it, uninterested._

_"A modern-day Robin hood." She decided. She looked at Malcolm. "What, are you worried that your net worth makes you a target?"_

_Malcolm tuned and leaned in close. "Jason Brodeur, Adam Hunt, Warren Patel." He listed off. "Tell me you see a connection, Moira."_

_The realization was instant. "He's not targeting the rich."_

_"No, he's not." He agreed. "He's targeting the list."_  
  
"How many people know about this List thing?" Lance asked, annoyed. He turned to look at both Moira and Malcolm, but neither of them paid him any mind. They weren't about to just let all their secrets out in the open, even though the memories seemed intent on just that. 

_The scene shifted to Queen Manor. Oliver walked in to the sitting room, where Diggle was standing by the windows. He cleared his throat._

_"You here for the bodyguard position?" he asked, "'Cause the new guy just quit."_

_Digg smiled. "No, I'm not." He said, turning to face Oliver. "I'm here about the other position." Oliver held out his hand, but Digg stayed where he was. "Just to be clear, I'm not signing on to be a sidekick." He said. Oliver put his hand down and Diggle started walking towards him. "But you're right. Fighting for this city needs to be done, and you're gonna do this with or without me."_  
  
Moira was thankful to see Diggle would help her son; she'd feel better knowing he'd have someone at his back. Even with everything going on- the Gambit, the List, Malcolm's inclusion into the memories-, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Her children meant the most to her, so she'd do whatever she needed to protect them.

_"Yeah." Oliver agreed._

_"But with me, there'll be fewer casualties, including you." He stopped in front of the man. Oliver looked at him with a wan smile._

_"Diggle, I'm not looking for anybody to save me." He argued.  
_  
Slade considered how he could work Diggle into his plan. He'd either kill the bodyguard or turn him, but that left a lot in the middle that would need some planning.

" _Maybe not, but you need someone just the same." Digg said. "You are fighting a war, Queen, except you have no idea what war does to you, how it scrapes off little pieces of your soul." Digg held out his hand. "And you need someone to remind you of who you are, not this thing you're becoming." Oliver nodded and took his hand, shaking it._  
  
Artemis closed her own eyes at that statement. If only Diggle… She wiped the thought from her mind and focused back on the television. She remembered what came next, and once the memory ended, they obviously all had a lot to talk about. Including what this all really was about.

_Just then the front doors burst open and half a dozen cops, including Lance and Hilton, barged in past a very upset Walter._

_"Oliver Queen." Lance yelled. Oliver walked out of the sitting room as the cops came in the foyer._

_"What is this?" Walter demanded. "You can't just barge in here."_

_Lance stopped in front of the Brit and gave him a satisfied smile. "Yeah? Well, I got a badge and a gun that say different." He noted._

__Laurel shook her head. "You're going to get that arrest warrant thrown out."

Quentin could only agree, and he hated himself for falling into his own haze that led to this. He would have to remind himself of this when they returned to Starling. He'd give Queen a few days, then get the vigilante into holding, before obtaining a warrant for that warehouse. With all the evidence stashed there, he'd easily be able to get Queen for murder.

_"Hey, what the hell's going on?!" Oliver asked, spotting Lance for the first time. "Detective Lance-"_

_"Oliver Queen," he cut him off, moving to cuff the man just as Moira came in, "you're under arrest on suspicion of obstruction of justice, aggravated assault," Moira looked at her husband in panic. "What is going on?" she asked. Thea, having heard the commotion, watched it all from the top of the stairs. "Walter, stop them!" she shouted. Lance continued through all the interruptions. "Trespassing, acting as a vigilante…"_

_"Are you out of your mind?!" Oliver shouted at the cop._

_"And murder." He finished, He gave the younger man a victorious look. As he led him out of the house, he began to read him his rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Give up that right…."_  
  
"Now before you all start into each other," Artemis announced, drawing everyone's attention to her, "I think we need to have a conversation about what this is all about." She was moving towards the door when she felt the eyes boring into her back. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw everyone was staring at her- some with accusation, others with uncertainty, and one murderous.

"Why should we trust you?" Moira asked, hoping that perhaps with everyone focused on the archer, no one would focus on the Gambit's discovery- Malcolm and Thea included. "You kidnapped us."

"And now I will tell you why," Artemis sighed. "So come along."

"No," Moira stated defiantly. They had played good prisoners thus far, but she wasn't moving without another reasonable answer.

In Artemis's ear, she heard Roy laughing, "Now I remember where your stubbornness comes from."

Pursing her lips, Artemis stepped into the middle of the group. She needed them to listen, and she was beginning to see that she wasn't going to be able to with her current methods. Knowing she'd still have to tread carefully, Artemis made a split second decision. "I will answer your questions, most of the ones that I can at least. So please."

"We know nothing about you," Malcolm said, untrusting as well. He could see what Moira was doing- throwing suspicion onto another person-, but he didn't mind at the moment. He couldn't speak with Moira in such a room as this anyway. He'd rather the rest of the group forget what they had heard about the List thus far as well.

"I'm not moving without one good reason," Moira added.

"Do you think they brought us all here to the future to kill us?" Laurel asked seeing a stalemate brewing.

"No, but we know nothing about this group," Moira explained. "For all we know, these memories aren't even real. This could all be a rouse."

"I wouldn't lie to you… not about this," Artemis said sadly. Lies in her line of work were common place, and she hated to think she would have to tell a few of her own even if it was for the betterment of the group.

"Why not?" Moira pressured.

With a sigh, Artemis reached in, pulled loose her mask and pulled down her hood. "Because I have no reason to. I want to just as much as you save my brother," the elder Thea said as she revealed herself to the utter astonishment of the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is a much needed 'we need to talk' chapter. I decided to put a lot of the big "conversations" into the next chapter since in this chapter there is a lot to talk about- Gambit, the List, Malcolm appearing, Quentin and his daughter having it out... so hence why it got pushed into the next chapter when there will be no interruptions.  
> Since this story does encompass more than season 1, not everything is just going to be revealed in one shot… but it'll be an eye opening chapter for the viewing group that's for certain.  
> I do have exams all week, so no idea if I'll even find a moment to get a chapter out until Friday. Hope your enjoying yourselves!


	7. Interlude: Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I have exams all week… so I'll just leave this here until the weekend. The conversation portion will continue into the next chapter which will be an episode chapter (Damaged). Now, I'm sure some of you are like gaping at the moment, and I'd say something… but similar to Artemis, better things are seen not told.  
> Hope you're all enjoying yourselves.

Note Prior: Elder Thea will mostly be referred to as Artemis, and the older Laurel will go by Canary for ease here.

**Interlude: Lies**

The elder Thea smiled sadly at her mother as Moira gaped at the sight of her daughter- grown and weary. The elder Thea's age of near forty revealed itself in her hair that held some grey streaks, and her face, in that there wasn't an ounce of the hope her younger self held.

No one spoke for a moment as they tried to get their bearings, and the second Slade moved towards any part of the group, Artemis didn't hesitate to notch an arrow and point it at his heart. The poison wouldn't kill him, but it'd knock him out for an appropriate amount of time. The sight of her daughter holding a bow, rage all too obvious, Moira felt like fainting. The only thing that kept her on feet was the reality of the situation at hand.

"That won't kill me," Slade deftly said.

"Oh I know," Artemis grinned. "But it will put you on your ass. Pit viper venom." She watched as his one eye widened. Artemis doubted it was shock that she had the venom, but more that he probably knew who else used it. Slade was the type of man who would know the rumors of the League of Assassins. When she chanced a glance towards her father, she noticed his contemplative look as well.

Artemis stepped forward, arrow still notched, and explained, "I didn't want you here Slade. I wanted you as far from my family as possible. Other people thought it was only fair that you were given the same opportunity to change as everyone else." She scowled as she thought back on the founding members of the Justice League and her husband, who all had suggested Slade be here. Roy had pointed out months ago that if she was willing to give Malcolm this chance, then perhaps Slade would change too after seeing what exactly happened to Shado. The elder Thea was less certain of that, but at this point, any future had to be better than the one she was currently in.

Slade smirked, so Artemis only smiled back and added, "Which means I don't need much of a reason to shoot you." Slowly, she lowered her bow and placed her arrow back in its quiver. All around her, she could tell she was being stared at in shock while they would glance towards her younger version. It was as if they were trying to connect the dots in how she started like a mouthy seventeen year old and turned into this. The memories would help with that, hands down. "We ready to go?" she asked, and the surprise kept them mostly muted. They were able to nod as Artemis finally effectively led them from the room.

"The part of the Watchtower you're in has been effectively closed off finally save for a few authorized members," Roy explained over the link. "You're all set."

Artemis already knew where she was going to take them- the small cafeteria. It was large with enough room for everyone to spread out. She could see they were on edge, and her revealing herself hadn't helped that much. Behind her, she didn't hear a peep, not even out of Slade.

Opening the door of the cafeteria, Artemis ushered them in. "There's food over there," she explained while pointing.

"I'd rather you answer our questions," Moira said, her voice wavering. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman her daughter would become.

"You've had nothing in four hours," the elder Thea said with a shake of her head. "First food, then you can bombard me with questions." She allowed them all to step by her, but when Slade moved to brush past her, she seized his arm. She didn't speak, but instead met his gaze straight on. The threat between them hung, unspoken, and Slade grinned in response. He was beginning to like Oliver's sister.

With some respect, Slade gave the elder Thea a small, barely noticeable nod before he made his way into the room uninterrupted. Letting out the breath she had been holding, Artemis allowed herself a moment to collect her thoughts; this hadn't been part of the plan. She had hoped she would be able to answer all their questions as Artemis, but that had been quashed the moment her mother had gotten in her head that this was all a rouse. It wasn't that farfetched to think this was something other than a dream, so she had made a choice. Now, she had to tiptoe around what she could and should not say.

Her partner and the older Laurel had gone quiet and had remained silent. There was a chance they had left the control room, but Artemis wasn't certain what their plan would be now. Roy would avoid this group as he had little connection to them until he was introduced via memory; then there was the fact his outfit resembled Oliver's. The elder Thea did not want her family confused at the sight of him. Unlike Roy, the elder Thea wouldn't be shocked if she saw the older Laurel here soon. Her father had only passed a few years ago, and it was a miracle that the once lawyer had stayed as far as she had thus far.

Moira had intended to sit with Thea, but she watched as her youngest had found a table with Laurel and Tommy. They had taken up all the seats effectively shutting Quentin out, and the Detective looked crushed but resilient in that he wouldn't sit with her either. Moira found a set in a far off corner silently hoping that Malcolm would find a different seat, but the moment he pulled a seat out from across from her, she realized she wasn't going to get out of this unscathed. Her eyes unwillingly sought out the elder version of her daughter who had finally left the door frame of the cafeteria and had pulled up a chair to sit with the Tommy, Laurel, and her younger version.

Malcolm followed Moira's gaze, and he, too found himself intrigued by Thea's older version. He wondered if Oliver had trained the girl or if she had received training elsewhere; either way, it was another potential hitch in his plan depending on when she'd be involved. "Interesting child," he remarked as he forced Moira to acknowledge him.

The frown on her face spoke volumes to exactly what she thought. "My daughter shouldn't wear a mask," she said sadly. It hurt her to see that Thea would eventually follow in her brother's footsteps, and from what she had seen up until now, the career of a vigilante was far from safe. "Nor should my son," she continued glaring at Malcolm.

"Oliver's quest for justice could be a hinder to us," he continued unfazed. "That List needs to be removed from his belongings."

"Even without the List, he'd find people to go after," she argued. She wanted to protect Oliver, and between the criminals of the streets or Malcolm, she found the criminals that Oliver had gone after thus far to be less dangerous than Merlyn. "With the List, he has a predictable direction." She felt terrible discussing her own son like this, but she had to temper Malcolm or risk his enforcer going after Oliver.

"And the Gambit?" he hmmed with a smile. It sent a shudder through Moira. "I must say Moira that was not predictable."

"I have to protect my family," she hastily whispered. She didn't need to say that at this point Oliver might actually be the greatest deterrent with his newly acquired skillset. "You and I both know you sabotaged the Gambit." She watched as Malcolm straightened. "I won't hesitate to use that if you so much as touch a hair on either Thea or Oliver's head."

"You wound me," Malcolm said, almost in a mocking fashion. "I would not harm either of your children… as long as they stay out of the Undertaking. Or you actively recruit them in."

Moira did not want to think about her son and Malcolm's enforcer side by side; it brought bile into her esophagus. The simplest way to deal with this would be to inform Oliver that Malcolm had Robert killed; that would send him after Malcolm in haste she was certain of. If Oliver could kill Malcolm before the enforcer intervened or the Undertaking came to completion, perhaps then, Moira could escape this nightmare. It was a terrible thought, but she wasn't sure how else to protect her family. Malcolm did not look at all perturbed to know that she had drudged up the Gambit and had threatened him with it. That told her that he had prepared for such an obstacle… but he hadn't, obviously, prepared for Oliver.

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me Moira?" he asked, head tilted. "Or are we done with surprises?" The threat was concealed, but Moira recognized it for what it was. Malcolm would not take lightly to anymore lying.

"None that I know of," she admitted. "After all, we are seeing events that would have passed, so who knows what's in store." That was almost true since Thea's heritage was something she knew of right now, but that was something she'd rather take to her grave.

Across the room, the elder Thea sat with her younger version, Laurel, and Tommy. All of whom looked wholly uncomfortable with her presence. "I'm not going to bite," Artemis teased, but she watched as their eyes trailed to her arrows. "Or shoot you."

"You threatened Slade," Laurel pointed out.

"Slade is incredibly dangerous if you hadn't noticed yet," Artemis countered.

"So you're me… or I'm you," Thea began before confusing herself as she tried to wrap her head around her older self.

"I'm who you'll become," Artemis confirmed.

"A vigilante?" Tommy asked with a frown.

"We don't go by vigilante anymore. I'd never call myself a hero, but that's what the people of earth do call us," she explained.

"Us?" Laurel implored.

"You met some of them. Justice League members," Artemis said with a nod.

"They didn't exactly explain anything," Laurel sighed.

"I asked them not to." Artemis noticed Moira and Malcolm were glancing their way, but they were obviously sharing some conversation, one they thought was secret. Artemis guessed it was either about the boat or the List. Detective Lance and Slade were within earshot, but only Lance was paying close attention to the table Artemis was at. However, Laurel refused to even meet her father's gaze, something Artemis needed to fix first before she could continue with her story. "It's not his fault," she said to Laurel. "He's pretty set in his ways, and he doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"It's my life!" Laurel growled.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Lance argued back. "Working with Queen? He could have gotten you killed or worse led you to blame yourself for other people dying. He's insane."

"It's my choice," she countered towards both Artemis and her father.

Artemis held up her hands defensively, "Don't worry I know." She couldn't count the number of times the older Laurel had said that to her over the years. "But he's your father. It's his job to care about you." She closed her eyes and tried to ignore how her own words were affecting her. Knowing she had left Malcolm to die at the hands of the League, now twice, struck her deep. After she had woken in the hospital, she had wanted nothing more than to go after him even though deep down she had to admit the chances he had lived with her brother heading the League.

"He…" Laurel began only to be interrupted.

"Loves you," the elder Laurel said coming through a different set of doors. Artemis tried not to groan at the sight of the Canary, but she silently thanked the world that the older Laurel had thought to remove her costume before coming here.

Detective Lance slowly rose to his feet at the sight of his daughter, older, and on the watchtower. Canary broke into a small sprint before throwing her arms around Quentin and hugging him tightly. "Dad," Canary whispered.

"Laurel?" he asked, his voice broken. He watched as the older version of his daughter pull away and step back.

Artemis rose and brushed past the other hero, whispering in her ear, "I'll give you a minute. Not a word about _him_."

With that, Artemis moved away from Thea and Tommy who shrunk away at the sight of Canary. They felt like they didn't belong, and while Thea wanted to corner her older self, she found that Artemis had pulled her mother into a corner. Tommy grasped her arm instead and pulled her to a farther table away from everyone else including Slade and his father.

"It's good to see you again," Canary smiled, heeding Artemis's warning. She wasn't here to talk about Oliver anyway; she just wanted to see her dad. "It's been too long."

"Too… long?" Laurel ground out, her voice in a bit of shock and awe.

"I'm dead," Quentin asked, and watched his daughter confirm it.

"Heart attack, seven years ago," Canary said sadly. If it hadn't been for Slade's men, he probably would have lived longer; it had only been the beginning of the Justice League and their doctors that had helped keep him alive for as long as he had. "I missed you."

"What are you doing… well, here?" he asked, unable to tear his eyes away.

"Found out what Thea was doing and had to see it myself," Canary explained. "I was made to wait to talk until now."

"Why?" Laurel asked.

"We worried you'd be overwhelmed," she answered, but she left out the fact Artemis hadn't wanted her here, worrying about the fact she'd say something about Oliver. For now, she'd bit her tongue, but that was only because she had calmed down long enough to understand the reasons behind that.

"I meant… up here, in this place," Quentin clarified. "I thought this place was for… vigilantes."

"Heroes dad. This place is the home of the Justice League," Canary said with a shake of her head. "But Artemis will tell you more about that in a minute."

"Wait, am I..?" Laurel began, and she watched as her older version shot her a smile. Her dad's eyes widened ten-fold.

"No worries," Canary shrugged. "I hung up my mask a few years back too."

"Queen did this, didn't he?" Quentin growled, hating to see his daughter had joined the wrong side of the fight.

Canary rolling her eyes was about to speak up when her younger self did. "Again, I make my own choices," Laurel growled. "And from what… the older Thea said… vigilantism is no longer illegal."

With a nod of her head, Canary said, "Hasn't been illegal in a long time. The police simply can't handle some of the threats anymore, so the Justice League takes care of it." Grasping her father's hands, Canary implored, "You need to keep an open mind here Dad. About all of this and Oliver." The name came out painfully, and she doubted her father hadn't noticed.

"I would never condone this," he disagreed, not liking it but happy to see his daughter would live a long life.

"But you will," Canary sighed to Laurel's shock. "I can't say much more as I think you need to see it… but you do come around to support Oliver's cause. I need you to let go of all this anger and try."

Laurel watched as her father's shoulders slumped with what Canary was saying. For a moment, she felt smug until her older self turned on her. "And you," Canary continued, "you needlessly throw yourself into these dangerous situations that can get people you love killed." Like Tommy… "It might have taken me a few… a lot… of years to learn this, but everything Dad is saying isn't wrong either. He cares and is trying to protect you." She watched as her younger self straighten up and cross her arms; Canary didn't even want to remember a time when she was this stubborn. "I learned to stop too late. You don't have to. This is an opportunity, but thus far, you've spent far too much time refusing to let go of the past!" Canary could match her younger self's streak of stubbornness if needed. She wished she could use Sara as an example, but they were still too new to this. If she brought up Sara, she'd have to explain her life and her death; at that, she shot a small glance towards Artemis. All these years later, she still didn't blame the older Thea, even though the youngest Merlyn thought she did. "I wish when I was your age I had spent less time fighting and more with him." That was the simple hard truth, and Canary couldn't help the tears that welled up. "He's gone… for seven years… and I can say you will regret these years you spent with a gap."

"If she'd stop working with Queen," Quentin began before being glared into silence.

"If he'd stay out of my life," Laurel attempted to only receive the same treatment.

"I forgot how stubborn I was and Dad was," Canary sighed. "Dad, I won't stop working with him… look around you and where I ended up. Laurel," she continued turning on her younger self. "He's your father. He's not getting out of your life." Touching her younger self's arm, she smiled sadly. "And you don't want him too either. Because when he's gone, you'll only wish he was there to yell at you about your choice of costume every night."

"I knew?" Quentin asked.

"And you still loved me," Canary grinned.

Artemis watched how the tense argument between the Lance's slowly faded thanks to Canary's interruption. She wasn't thrilled with having the older Laurel here, but if it helped to keep the peace, then Artemis could deal with it.

Pulling Moira away from Malcolm had been easy enough once Artemis had threatened to put an arrow into Malcolm's knee. Moira's face portrayed shock while Mr. Merlyn looked utterly amused by her threat. Artemis hadn't fought Malcolm in a long, long time, but she was certain that she'd still do significant damage.

"We need to talk before I talk to everyone else," Artemis explained getting Moira out of earshot.

"Why?" Moira asked concerned as she eyed up the older version of her daughter hesitantly. Her eyes trailed towards Canary. "How many of our older versions exist up here?"

Artemis couldn't help the sad thought that crossed her mind 'not enough…' Almost all of them were dead now… Only her younger self and Laurel to the best of her knowledge. "I'm sure we'll see more at some point," Artemis lied.

"What is this about young lady?" Moira sighed turning back to her older daughter before realizing her words weren't exactly correct. "I just don't…"

"It's okay," Artemis smiled. "It's a lot, I know. It's why I had to wait." Though in the original plan, Artemis hadn't planned to reveal herself, but they didn't need to know that. "There are a lot of secrets left in those memories… one that involves a few of us in this room."

Moira chewed on her lip and tried to reason that there was no way her daughter could know the truth.

"You need to tell her," Artemis continued knowing her mother did not need this spelled out. "About her heritage."

Moira took a deep breath before sighing. "How did you find out?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter," Artemis countered. "At least not yet. But I do know, and when she finds out, she is not going to be happy. I would know, I wasn't."

"I can't…"

"You can and you will," Artemis countered. "You do not want her to find out via these memories. You're better off just admitting it now." She met her mother's gaze head on, and it was hard not to remember how it used to be. "Either you tell her and Malcolm, or I will." She didn't mean for it to sound like a threat, but there was no other way to put it. Touching her mother shoulder's gently, Artemis had to center herself before pulling away to talk to everyone as one group.

Once Artemis was situated in the middle of the room, she watched as Tommy and her younger self wandered back over. Thea was leaning against Tommy trying to wrap her arm around him. It made Artemis uncomfortable just to look at.

"What did she want?" Malcolm whispered to Moira as they moved to join the group again.

"Just to say hi," Moira lied before she pulled away and got closer to Thea, who only glared at her in response.

Canary moved away from her family to join Artemis as much needed back-up. Slade was difficult to have in the room and not feel threatened in some way. "You all deserve answers… about what this all for though I'm sure you all have a good handle on it now."

"The List," Detective Lance began.

"The Gambit," Thea said a moment later.

Artemis held up her hands to quiet the group of discord. "The List and the Gambit are both covered in the memories soon enough."

"So you're going to leave us in the dark?" Tommy asked incredulously.

Artemis could understand their dislike about that. "Some things are better seen and not told," she explained. "If I told you everything, then there would be no point in you watching these memories." With a sigh, she added, "I know I said I'd answer questions, but some are better off waiting until later." Waving her hand around, she continued, "This is the Watchtower, home of the Justice League." This was something they all had been told. "Years after… Oliver, this place is created to help defend the earth from threats police couldn't handle. This is humanity's greatest achievement." She was now quoting one of the founding members. "But that doesn't mean we didn't have hiccups along the way."

"And we still do," Canary added.

"There are things we wish we could change," Artemis continued. "That's where you all come in. We want you to help us make things better, right our wrongs to quote another man. This isn't just Oliver we are talking about here. The secrets and lies tore up all of us and had a ripple effect."

"We need you all to keep an open mind and not look for loopholes," Canary said, mostly to Slade and Malcolm, who both understood. The entire time they had been here they had looked, not for ways to make things better, but ways to better their awaiting plans in the past.

"You said Oliver was earthside," Moira began before trailing off.

"I'm sorry I lied," Artemis said sadly. "I needed you to sit down."

"Where is he?" Moira asked a breath later, and Artemis felt Canary shift closer.

Unable to help herself, Artemis answered, "He's dead." According to the League, both Leagues, that was a true statement.

….

Ra's Al Ghul wiped his blade clean of the blood dripping from it on one of the dead recruits on the floor. Five men and women had walked in, begging for allowance into the League, but only two would be leaving alive. They had been the only two to think to work together to try and defend themselves against his blade, and Oliver could respect that. As such, he had let them live even though one had begged for his life. Begging was undignified, but it took a lot of a very proud man to be reduced to that. This was something else Oliver could admire.

"Master?" one of the assassins called out.

Setting his blade back in its sheath, Ra's turned towards the two survivors and the three assassins. He released the two along with two of his own assassins that would lead them first to get patched up then to training. They had a lot to learn.

"Yes," Ra's answered to the one that had just spoke. He watched as the assassin dropped to his knees. "Have you pulled the transporter codes from Al Saer yet?" Ra's recognized one of his own interrogators, and the blood on the assassin's gloves told a story.

"Not yet Master," the assassin admitted slowly, his head bowed. "But we believe ourselves to be close."

"Don't lie to me," he warned.

"We hope ourselves to be close," the assassin quickly corrected.

"Then why are you here?" Oliver asked as he took a seat in his chair.

"I was sent by Sarab as he thought you had use of me," the assassin answered.

Ra's considered the assassin; the boy wasn't one of his best fighters, but he was a good tracker. He began to wonder if Sarab knew his own mind better than he did. Maseo had made it clear that it would be dangerous to head to the watchtower with no Intel to begin with; according to his once friend, they did not want to risk their Master unnecessarily. As such, Ra's had begun to think of other ways to approach his once sister to gleam some useful background and a bit more on what was actually going on in that Watchtower. He had a plan, but first, he would need someone… a certain person he had sent off weeks ago to Russia.

"I need you to fetch someone," Ra's finally said.

"Master."

He had the perfect assassin in mind for what he needed done first before he could, himself, head up to the Watchtower. "Find and return with Ta-er Al-Sahfer."


	8. Damaged

**Damaged**

A heartbeat went by when no one spoke or reacted to Artemis's words. After the little they had seen, it seemed unbelievable that Oliver Queen was dead. He had survived the island, and to hear that he was now dead… most weren't sure how to respond.

Standing silent, Thea felt like collapsing to her knees. She couldn't understand how or why this had happened.

Slade, on the other hand, couldn't hide the grin on his face. He wasn't sure if it was by his hand, but he didn't entirely care either. To him, the only downside to this news was that he wasn't sure how much the kid had suffered before his end.

Moira tried to calm her beating heart; somewhere deep inside, she had known this had to be the reason they were all brought here. It was the only thing that made sense the moment her daughter had revealed herself to be the elder archer. She had desperately wanted to believe Oliver had been alive like she had been told, but a mother always knows.

Laurel, Quentin, and Tommy were both torn on what to feel. They didn't want Oliver to be dead, on one hand, but they weren't completely sold on what he was doing either. Tommy disliked the murder, and Laurel had yet to forgive Oliver for taking away her sister. Quentin just hid behind his badge.

Malcolm steeled his face and glanced towards Slade. From the moment they were brought here, the business man turned assassin could tell that this Wilson was dangerous. He couldn't help but wonder if it was Slade that had taken Oliver from this world, and if that was true, that made the mercenary a serious threat. Currently, Malcolm was certain he, himself, could take Oliver in a fight, but no ordinary criminal could. From here on, Malcolm cautioned himself to tread lightly and avoid letting the mercenary know too much. To the Dark Archer, a sneak attack would be of most use.

For a moment, Artemis allowed everyone a chance to process this before continuing. She turned towards Slade and stated bluntly, "It wasn't you." She didn't want to see him smiling about murdering her brother. This was the man that took away her mother; she didn't want him acting gleeful over her brother's murder as well.

"He's dead," Slade said, accepting of this. He'd rather it have been him, but at the moment, he'd take what he was handed.

"As are you," Artemis grinned as she watched Slade's face screw up in disbelief. "Someone firebombed the Island… while you were on it." She tried not to think that her brother would do something so horrible, but the Justice League wasn't sure who else it could have been.

"Not you?" Slade said a breath later.

"I'm not a murderer," she easily replied. "Not anymore." She added these words on purpose; after all these years, she had never been able to wash the red from her hands. It didn't matter to her that Sara's death had been more on Malcolm's head then hers; she had still fired the arrow. Every day, she fought to try and make up for that fact.

Closing her eyes, Moira tried to imagine her youngest a murderer, and she simply couldn't. Thea was a lot of things, but not a murderer, never that. Thea grasped onto the words 'not anymore' and tried to reconcile with herself that it wasn't possible for her to ever kill someone.

Wanting to get the attention of what she would become, Thea took a harrowing breath and asked, "How did he die?"

Smiling sadly, Artemis responded, "Saving me… well, us" She referred to herself and Thea. "Someone killed him in our place." She wasn't about to say it was Ra's or that Oliver had given in, not died, to save her. She wasn't about to destroy the little progress they had made thus far as a group. If they discovered the monster Oliver was to become, Artemis was certain they'd never be able to look past that.

"I don't… understand," Thea growled. "Why me? Because of this?" She indicated Artemis's get up.

"I didn't wear a mask then… at least not this one." The mask she had worn had been one of normalcy when her life had been anything but. When she saw Moira was ready to interrupt again, Artemis decided to add, "This is why you're here. To change this. Oliver spent years saving Starling. It's only fair that we do the same in turn." Looking to each, including Slade, she continued, "These memories are the worst and best of him. We hope… The Justice League hopes that by seeing this, the truth and the consequences of your actions that perhaps Oliver won't…" She didn't want to say the word 'dead' again, not when it was still a lie. Technically Oliver Queen was dead and only Ra's al Ghul remained… but he was still her brother. "If you want to see what happens with the Gambit or the List, then I suggest we get you back." Waving over the elder Laurel, Artemis asked, "Can you return them to the room?"

Canary reluctantly nodded and began to try and herd them back down the hallway.

"Why did you tell us this to start?" Tommy asked before he was pushed into the hallway,

"Would you have believed me if I had greeted you on the transport pad?" Artemis asked, and she watched as Tommy accepted that and moved to follow his father.

Roy walked out from behind the pillar and moved next to Artemis. "You know I love you," he stated, grasping her hand. "But is lying to them worth what will happen when they find out the truth?"

"They won't," she said calmly. "They'll never see Oliver become Ra's al Ghul and forsake… everything." Including herself.

"And how do you propose we do that?" he asked, flabbergasted. He wasn't entirely shocked by his Thea lying about Oliver's supposed death; even he saw the once Hood as no longer alive.

"We show up to Oliver is almost killed by Ra's in his third year," she continued having thought this over. "We give them that, then we send them back with the hope that this can all be avoided." With that, she barely pecked him on the cheek and went to follow the group. The gap between them had been growing as of late, since she had gone after the League of Assassins and had almost died as a result.

Roy sighed and closed his eyes. Unlike Artemis, a part of him wanted to save Oliver, but a much larger part wanted to save her…

….

The Canary led the group back through the twists and turns, so that they could continue the memories. She wasn't thrilled by Artemis's explanation of what happened to Ollie, but she understood the reasoning enough. Having learned long ago to control her emotions and not let them rule her decisions, she kept her mouth shut for the moment on what actually happened to Oliver. However, she couldn't help but say, "It's not her fault. Artemis… the way she is."

The Canary noticed she had grabbed a majority of their attentions. "With the fires… and how we lost Oliver, it took a toll on her. One I think she never recovered from. She had to take on Oliver's mask immediately and help save the city, her city." Opening the door, the Canary ushered them back in. "She changed that day because she had too in order to survive." They all had; so many people had been lost that day. She had been so far away when she had seen what happened to Oliver and Thea, and it had crushed her unable to arrive in time to help except pick up the pieces of who Artemis had once been.

"What…" Laurel began when Artemis arrived and silenced everyone with a look.

"Are we ready to begin again?" she asked, shooting a glance towards the Canary.

"I should be going," Canary said with a nod, her gaze speaking volumes that she'd be back. "Ted will be waiting." Everyone heard the name, but only Laurel asked as the doors closed with them plus Artemis inside,

"Who's Ted?"

Artemis didn't reply but leaned, instead, silently against the door. Her hood hung down, and while her stance had loosened from earlier, her bow was still gripped tight. She was obviously expecting trouble as the memories went on and more questions. After all, no one had asked the imperative question 'Who killed Oliver?' and Artemis wasn't sure how she would respond to that yet.

Before anyone could properly sit or ask anything else, the memory began again.

_The memory set opened with a recap of Oliver's arrest. The scene then flashed back to the Island. A rabbit stood in the distance in the forest- and was suddenly cut down by an arrow. Several yards away stood Yao Fei, bow in hand, with Oliver standing next to him. He indicated to the rabbit._

Thea tried to imagine a bow in her brother's hand in this past, and she found herself struggling even after seeing his older self do it with ease. Unlike herself, Oliver had never taken an interest in archery as a child. Up until he had disappeared, Thea had loved it. When he was gone, she had lost her heart in it; glancing at her older self, Thea couldn't help but scowl with the thought that apparently she had found it again. She didn't even want to dwell on the idea that she might have killed someone.

_"Dinner." he said._

_Oliver looked at him, and then groaned. "Ah, come- hey, I got an idea, why don't you let me shoot that thing and you can go pick up the bloody, dead, disgusting animal." He whined._  
  
Wanting to comment, Laurel began to open her mouth to make a remark, but she found herself in a somber mood after everything that had occurred in the cafeteria. It terrified her in part to know she would eventually take up the mask, and she couldn't fathom why she would ever do such a thing. She believed in the law.

_Yao Fei looked him over, and then indicated to his bow. "What?" Oliver asked, confused._

_"Try." He said simply, handing the bow over. Oliver took it, unsure. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised. Everything, , aim, fire." He instructed. He handed him an arrow. "Here." He said, then pointed at a far off tree. "Aim that tree."_

_Oliver nocked the arrow and took aim. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised again, and Oliver took a slow, steadying breath. He released it, then shot the arrow-_

_That went wide to the right._  
  
The Dark Archer wasn't all that surprised. He hadn't expected natural talent with the bow, especially with someone so unfamiliar to the weight required to pull back the bowstring. It was a tad off balancing to see how five years had so abruptly changed the young Queen, but when that thought crossed his mind, he reminded himself he was all too similar in that it had taken only two years with the League to transform himself.

_"Nǐ huì sǐ de hěn cǎn" Yao Fei muttered._

_"What does that mean?" Oliver asked, annoyed._

_"You will die badly." He translated dryly. He pointed in the direction the arrow went. "Get."_  
  
It was a terrible thing to say given Oliver's situation, but everyone in the room shared a small smile, each for their own reasons, due to what Yao Fei had said. It helped to release some of the tension that had been building in the room. They obviously had a lot to all talk about, but Malcolm and Moira had no intention of revealing anything else unless the memories did it for them. Moira hid to protect her family, and Malcolm hid to protect himself.

_Oliver sighed in annoyance, but walked off in search of the wayward arrow. He moved deeper into the forest, and he finally spotted it, sticking out of a fallen tree. He moved to get it, when suddenly a hand covered his mouth._  
  
Thea gasped, and tried to think of who would grab her brother in the middle of an island and for what reason. Next to her, Tommy wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her tight. He would have preferred to comfort Laurel, but she was distant. Not that he blamed her, but he knew when to give the older Lance sister space and time.

_Arms grabbed him and dragged him further into the trees. Soon his hands were bound in front of him, and he was led by three men in black tactical gear and ski masks to a pit covered by a makeshift bamboo grate. They opened the grate and shoved him into the hole. Oliver crashed down, barely able to break his fall, and turned over to see the men close the grate and secure it, locking him in._

_"Wait, wait! You can't leave me here!" he cried out, grasping at the grate. One of the men smashed his fingers with the butt of his assault rifle. Oliver screamed in pain, letting go and falling back down. "Don't do this to me, please! Oh-oh! No! Please! I didn't do anything!"_  
  
The only detective in the room, but not on the Watchtower, shuddered to think of the fear Queen had to be experiencing. Even he would be taken back to be abducted then thrown into a cage without an explanation, and that was ignoring what had happened to the Queen boy thus far. He was getting a terrible feeling in his stomach that he wasn't going to like what transpired during this memory.

_The scene flashed back to present as Oliver was led out of a squad car in cuffs and into the SCPD headquarters through a sea of reporters._

_'The police think they know who I am.' Oliver's' voice sounded, playing over his booking. 'They think I'm the vigilante. The man in the hood terrorizing the city's also think they have me trapped. That I have no way out. They're only half right.'_  
  
"Good to see five years on a desert island hasn't changed my brother's ego," Thea huffed to Moira's amusement.

"He did successfully get off multiple times," Tommy pointed out with a smile.

"Well I'd like to see him get out of this one," Quentin growled. He could already see mistakes he had made in his rush, but even with circumstantial evidence, he had met the burden of proof for the DA to take it to court. There was no possible way for Queen to escape this, in Detective Lance's mind.

" _This is a mistake."_

_The scene had changed to an interrogation room, where Lance sat across a table from Oliver. Lance didn't even look up from his forms at Oliver's declaration._

_"I'll be asking you a few questions, standard stuff for the report." He said. "Have you been arrested before? That's ok, I know the answer to that one, plenty of times." he put in sarcastically._  
  
"Is that really the time to make jokes?" Moira asked, not appreciating how her family had been treated thus far in the memories. It might have been true that Oliver was the vigilante, but Quentin's rage was also obviously fueled by his hatred for the Queen name.

"He's a murderer," Detective Lance said with less malice as he had in earlier memories.

"And you've just painted a massive target on his back," Malcolm said. He could only imagine how his other self would respond, though he was certain he already had a good idea about that. He wouldn't allow anyone to get between him and the Undertaking- Robert's son or not. It wouldn't be a decision he'd make lightly though, but it'd be a necessary one; at least in this memory.

" _Like I said, this is a mistake." Oliver repeated._

_"Far as I can tell, the only mistake I made was not shooting you down at the docks when I had a chance." Lance snarled in reply._

_"I am not who you think I am." He tried. Lance scoffed._  
  
The young Merlyn couldn't help but agree. Oliver had been his best friend growing up, and now he didn't see anything but glimpses of his old friend in this new Oliver. No one really knew who Oliver was.

_"Oh, you're exactly who I think you are." He stated. "You're a dangerous menace who doesn't care about who he hurts, except now you're doing it with bows and arrows instead of trust funds and yachts."_  
  
"You know," Thea said thoughtfully. "My brother has actually done a good job keeping those not involved out of the way. I mean… without him at the auction, how many more people would have died?" In the corner, Artemis smiled; she really loved her brother.

Laurel couldn't agree more. "Oliver isn't a dangerous menace. He's helping people, even if you can't see it." She wasn't sure if she saw it yet, but she was beginning to notice a difference. Taking out the triad made the vigilante a serious threat to any criminal.

"He's only helping people this List has wronged," Quentin argued back, ignoring the Deadshot incident.

"For now," Artemis added.

_Oliver sat back in his chair. "Detective, you hate me. I get it. But that doesn't make me a vigilante." He reasoned._

_"No." Lance agreed, and then pressed on. "The security camera footage of you at the UNIDAC auction with a green hood does that pretty well."_

_"And as I said again, I ran into the stairwell once I heard the shooting." Oliver stated, leaning forward. "I saw a duffel bag that I thought maybe belonged to the shooter. I grabbed it, looked inside and saw a hood." He finished._

_"And what- you took it home with you? 'Cause we can't find it." Lance retorted. "And what about harassing Adam Hunt? That just happened to take place right across the street from your little homecoming bash."_

_"Those were coincidences." Oliver argued._  
  
Groaning, Laurel covered her face. "That's a terrible argument." She could admit that while what he said was true, the jury might not see it that way. Circumstantial evidence was more than enough for a conviction, and given the current DA, Laurel wouldn't put it past that woman or the ADA to pursue the death penalty… or a mental institution.

_"No. When they pile up like that, it becomes evidence." Lance replied. He began to work on the forms again when a patrol man opened the door._

_"His parents are here." The cop announced._

_"Tell them to wait." Lance ordered._

_"I want to see my son." Moira demanded, storming into the room with Walter right behind her._

_"I'm in the middle of an interrogation here!" Lance yelled, getting up from his chair._

_"You would not keep me from my son," Moira, of present, said with a glare. She'd do it again, hands down, or for the first time since these events hadn't occurred yet._

_"Detective Lance," Moira started, fury etched on her face, "I know you hate my family, but I had no idea that you'd go so far to arrest my son without any grounds whatsoever!"_

_"I have solid grounds, and I have evidence." Lance argued coldly._

_"Which you can present to Mr. Queen's attorney when he gets here." Walter countered. "Until then, this interrogation is over, Detective."_

_Lance looked at Moira and Walter, then down at Oliver, still seated at the table. "Sure." He said finally, walking out of the room "You have fifteen minutes." He closed the door, leaving the family alone in the room._

_"Detective Lance appears to be on some personal vendetta." Walter noted._  
  
Malcolm and Slade considered Sara's involvement in such a hatred. The death of a child was something that a mark on someone's soul. Neither expected the Detective to ever fully forgive Oliver, but Slade was thoroughly enthralled with the idea that this Lance would see what actually happened to his daughter. He would very much enjoy the Lance's face then; Sara had always been a thorn in his side, and Slade blamed her for Shado's death as well… just not as much as he blamed the kid.

_"He is." Oliver agrees, looking at the man. "He blames me for the death of his daughter. He also thinks that I dress up in a green hood and shoot people with arrows." He finished dryly._

_"The important thing is not to say anything until your attorney gets here." Walter advised._  
  
_"Fine." He agreed. "I want Laurel._ "

Quentin growled under his breath trying to calm his thoughts at what this would do to him. "He's only picking you to antagonize me."

"Oh I'm sure," Laurel scoffed. "Good." She'd listened to older self, but it would take a bit more time for her to actually forgive her father for his controlling behavior. She could protect herself and make her own decisions; she needed him to see that. For now, Laurel planned to sit back and enjoy this memory in full.

_Both Moira and Walter scoffed. "Brilliant." Walter muttered._

_"Oliver I don't think your ex-girlfriend can be counted on to be objective here." Moira argued. Oliver looked at her, unflinching._

_"She knows me better than anyone. She knows that I could never be this guy." He reasoned. He looked to his stepfather. "Walter, you say Lance has a vendetta?"_

_"Yes." He replied._

_"I think Laurel can get him off of it." Oliver continued. "He raised her to do the right thing. That includes representing an innocent man. So Mom," He looked to Moira. "Please." He asked plainly. Moira sighed._  
  
"I will," Laurel confirmed.

"Except he is the vigilante," Quentin argued.

"But that's not why you arrested him," Laurel said knowingly.

_The scene changed to CNRI. Moira entered and looked around, finally finding her target. "Laurel." She said, walking up to the attorney that was busily reading a file. Laurel looked up in surprise._

_"Mrs. Queen!" she exclaimed, confusion on her face. "What are you-"_

_"It's Oliver. Something's happened." She began. Laurel looked at her sympathetically._

_"I know." She glanced at a TV that was re-airing Oliver's walk up the precinct stairs. "It's been all over the news."_  
  
Malcolm shot a knowing look towards Quentin, who did have the capability of looking embarrassed. The Detective could now see how big of a target he had just painted on the Queen scion. He wanted the vigilante to face courtroom justice, not a criminal looking to get revenge or get a name for himself.

_Moira sighed. "These charges are ludicrous." She stated._

_"I know." Laurel agreed, walking them back to her desk. "Can I ask you, who's representing him?"_

_Moira looked at her awkwardly. "Well, that's why I'm here." She looked at the younger woman. "He wants you to represent him."_

_"Me?" Laurel asked in confusion._

_"Yes." Moira replied, slightly embarrassed. "I told him it was a bad idea, but to be frank, I am desperate. He says if you don't represent him, then he doesn't want any attorney."_  
  
Tommy glanced towards Laurel and couldn't help but joke, "You're going to be his lawyer."

"Oh I am?" she huffed.

"Mhm," he grinned. "You and I both know Oliver, then and now, is stubborn enough to go through with that threat. Which means you'll be his lawyer to save his hide."

"Like always," Thea finished.

_"Mrs. Queen," she began slowly, "my father is the arresting officer."_

_"Yes." Moira agreed._

_"And I don't think it's a good idea for me to represent someone who I've been involved with." she finished with a sympathetic look. "Listen, I am sorry for what your family is going through-"_

_"No apologies." Moira interrupted with a smile. "Your idealism, I think, is why my son, for all his mistakes, is so smitten with you." She sighed. "Regardless, it was a bad idea on his part, and I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."_  
  
Malcolm was beginning to see why his son was also attracted to Ms. Lance. She seemed to have strong ideals, so similar to Rebecca. However, he could see how this attraction would end badly for his son. Even if the memories didn't directly address the tension, there was an obvious discord between the memory versions of Laurel, Tommy, and Oliver.

_The scene shifted to the courthouse, where Oliver was being led into the courtroom by an officer._

_"Docket 81941, People vs. Oliver Queen." The bailiff intoned. Oliver walked past his family, and Tommy, to sit at the defendants table. "Murder, aggravated assault, assault with intent, menacing and trespassing."_  
  
"How bad is this...?" Thea asked. She had seen inside of the courtroom a few times with her brother was the defendant, but he had always gotten off.

For a moment, Laurel considered downplaying it as she was certain Oliver would find a way out of this, but she didn't want to lie to the youngest Queen. "It's bad," she confirmed. "Depending on who the state decides to have try this case will change whether they look for life or the death penalty." She shuddered to think that perhaps this was how Oliver died, but based on everything she had seen in this tower, she doubted that this was how he ended. There seemed to be so much left to do, but she couldn't help but worry.

Thea nodded but didn't answer otherwise. Instead, she leaned back and curled up partially. She wanted the ability to hide her face if needed.

_Judge Moss looked at Oliver, then looked around "Where's your attorney, Mr. Queen?" she asked._

_"I'm representing myself, Judge." He stood and replied calmly._  
  
Tommy pointed knowingly to the screen, and Laurel tried not to sigh.

_"I'm not sure that's the wisest course, Mr. Queen." The Judge argued._

_"I think it is." He countered. "I'm innocent."_

_"Then we'll consider that your plea." Moss said._

_"Thank you." Oliver said sitting back down._

_"Now, as to bail-"_

_"Your Honor," said District Attorney Kate Spencer as she stood to address the Judge."Mr. Queen's family owns a pair of private jets, and, well, on the subject of their wealth, I would point out that there is virtually no bail amount that can guarantee his presence at trial." She argued._  
  
"And what will she do?" Thea asked, referring back to her earlier question.

Laurel was relieved to see DA Spencer. Compared to the ADA at this time, things could have been substantially worse. "She'll be careful. People see the vigilante as a savior of sorts, and the evidence might not guarantee a conviction with a jury that could be sympathetic. I'll say she tries to make a deal."

_"So then I guess it's a good thing that the people's case is so circumstantial." Heads turned and Oliver allowed himself a satisfied smile as Laurel made her way into the court. She walked past Oliver's stunned family, and her even more stunned father, to stand next to the defendant's table. "Dinah Laurel Lance, Your Honor." She announced. "I'd like to file my appearance on behalf of the defendant."_  
  
"You're going to defend him?" Quentin growled, but when she turned to scowl at him, he backed off quickly. He could see that perhaps in this memory he had rushed to judgement due to past actions- correct gut or no.

_Oliver gratefully slipped over to the second chair so Laurel could take her rightful place at the table. "Mr. Queen's wealth should not deprive him of the right to be released on bail while under the presumption of innocence." She argued._

_"He is a flight risk." Spencer countered._

_"Then minimize the risk." Laurel reasoned. "The defendant is willing to submit to home confinement and electronic monitoring through the wearing of a UKG45 administrated ankle device."_

_The smile fell completely off Oliver's face. "No, he wouldn't." he argued._  
  
Slade cocked his head, curious to see how the kid would weasel his way out of this one. Prior to the anklet, he could tell the playboy had had a plan, one that would now need to be adjusted. However, Slade knew from old experience how easy it could be to trick those monitors or cut them off. Both options posed a huge risk if caught though, something the kid had to know himself.

" _Sold." The Judge said, ignoring him._

_"Your Honor-"Spencer tried to argue, but the judge cut her off, too. "Bail is set at $15 million. $5 million bond." She announced. "Defendant to see probation for the fitting of a GPS device." She banged the gavel to close out the hearing._

_Oliver leaned back in his chair and looked at his ex-girlfriend. "I knew you couldn't resist saving my ass." He said with a smile._  
  
Sighing, Laurel tried not to imagine how much she was going to regret this. Based on the evidence her father had in the memory, Laurel was certain her other self would have little to no trouble getting the charges thrown out. It was only a matter of creating reasonable doubt if this even went to trial.

"I can't believe you're defending him," Quentin muttered. "Just to spite me."

"Yes Dad, just to spite you," Laurel responded, barely glancing his way. "And the fact it looks like you're targeting Oliver because of what happened to Sara."

"But he is the vigilante!"

Laurel sighed, and next to her, she felt the rumble of Tommy hiding a laugh. He was getting amusement out of the irony of this situation. The Detective was completely right, but everyone else seemed to think that this was all a vendetta.

_"You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?" she asked wryly._

_"No." he denied. "It's going to be like old times."_

_"Fortunately for you with the legal case, there's no way that you're this vigilante." She noted, closing her briefcase._

_"I agree."_

_She looked him dead in the eye. "Because he's actually trying to make a both know that's not really your style." She stated, rising to leave. She didn't see the hurt look in his eyes that he masked almost immediately._  
  
Unable to help herself, Laurel cringed at her own words. She could see all that pent up rage in her other self, and she was beginning to understand why her older self had warned them to let go of it all. If she had looked past her anger and the mask Oliver wore, she might actually see the truth that he was the one dressing up at night to save the city.

"Harsh," Thea commented.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor later that day, where Oliver was getting fitted with his ankle bracelet as Moira, Walter, and Tommy looked on._

_"Mom." He said calmingly to his mother, "It's not that bad."_

_The cop finished. "Okay. This device has a direct line into the on the property, you're golden." He instructed. "Any questions?"_

_"Yes." Oliver said immediately. "I'm having a sizeable get together here tomorrow evening, and there is a better than likely chance it spills into the outdoor pool." Tommy and Moira looked at him in disbelief._

_The cop didn't bat an eye. "Pool deck's fine." He said. "Step on the grass, they're sending a SWAT team to forcibly subdue you." He finished wryly._  
  
"I'm getting the feeling he could take a SWAT team," Tommy added trying not to imagine Oliver in the middle of a party taking out multiple police officers.

Malcolm didn't add his two cents, but he could only agree with his son. The skill Oliver had would easily outmatch anyone the SCPD could throw at him. Only someone of equal skill would have a chance at removing the vigilante from Starling City.

_"Thank you, officer." Oliver said. The cop showed himself out._

_"A 'sizeable get together'?" Moira asked in disbelief._

_"I'm confined to this house for the foreseeable future. I might as well make the most of it." He announced. He looked over at Tommy. "And this party is going to be themed." He decided. "I'm thinking prison, uh, burning man meets 'Shawshank Redemption'. The invite says, 'come before Oliver Queen gets off'."_  
  
Mouth hung open, Thea stared stunned at the screen. "We're worried he's going to go to prison, and he wants to throw a party?"

"Classic Oliver," Laurel said, not to be harsh but impressed as that's exactly what they'd all expect.

Moira was beginning to think that perhaps she needed to ban parties at the mansion; they only seemed to attract trouble. It irked her to see her son, playing a charade or not, to act as so inconsequential about the circumstances. She was terrified here, and this hadn't even come to pass yet.

" _Maybe a party's not in the best of taste, you know, considering the circumstances." Tommy said, trying to be the voice of reason as he sat down next to his friend._

_"Tommy, the circumstances are why we're having the party in the first place." Oliver said. He looked at the three of them. "I want people to know that I'm not worried about any of this."_

_"Well, that makes one of us." Moira said archly._  
  
Slade tried not to smirk as he put the pieces together. As long as Diggle went along with it, Slade was certain he had figured out how Oliver planned exactly to get all charges dropped. It was rather ingenious and a good way to throw off future blame. If the police were discovered to have gone after the kid due to a personal vendetta, they would do anything possible to stay as far away from him afterwards.

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where Quentin was having a 'conversation' with his daughter._  
  
Quentin and Laurel glanced at each other from across the room. They were both getting the odd sensation that this was about to devolve as it had in the cafeteria.

" _Before you start yelling-"_

_"Why would I yell?" he asked harshly. "You're only defending the man that killed your sister."_  
  
"He did not kill Sara," Laurel snapped, turning towards Quentin. In the corner, Artemis flinched; after all, she had been the one to fire the arrows that ended Sara's life all those years ago. "Sara made her own choices, and she was the one who got on the boat."

"Because he asked her too!" Quentin argued. "He broke your heart and killed her. He's nothing but trouble, and that's ignoring how he spends his nights dressed up."

"Sara did not need to be asked to get on the boat," Laurel said a tad more calmly and sadly. She remembered the rebel streak her younger sister had had. It wouldn't have taken more than a look to convince Sara onto that boat, and deep down, she felt that perhaps she had drove Oliver to run away. "She made her own decisions, and you're punishing Oliver for it."

"He killed her, and he is the vigilante," Quentin growled.

"But you only arrested him for the former reason," Laurel frowned before turning back to the television. Reaching up, she wiped a few stray tears that had begun to accumulate in her eyes. She noticed that Tommy had saw her, and while she shot him a small smile and mouthed that she was alright, she could tell he didn't believe it for a second.

_"Oliver did not kill Sara!" Laurel exclaimed, exasperated._

_"If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have been on that boat." Quentin shot back._

_"Have you considered the possibility that that's the reason you're trying to make him out to be this-this menace?" Laurel reasoned hotly._

_"No." Quentin denied. "It is the videotape, it's the suspicious timing, that is the reason!"_

_"This is Oliver Queen we're talking about." Laurel exploded. "He wrecks fancy cars and he dates but he doesn't kill people."_  
  
Slade smirked with the knowledge that Oliver Queen was very much a killer. He wondered how this Laurel would take seeing the kid kill a few people in practically cold blood or how he had let Shado die. The people Oliver had killed on screen thus far, to Slade, had deserved everything coming to them, but there had been people on the island, he was certain they would see as less-so deserving of what the kid would do to them.

" _No, he just uses them, like he used Sara and like he used you, and he's only asked you to be his lawyer to get at me." Quentin stated angrily._

_"No, he asked me to be his lawyer to get through to you." Laurel explained._

_"You hate the Hood and you hate Oliver, and you want more than anything for them to be the same Oliver isn't the reason why Sara the reason mom left." She added._  
  
Quentin huffed and wanted nothing more than to block out what his oldest daughter was saying in present and in the memory… however, he could see how right she was. The video evidence was flimsy at best, and he was grasping at straws to make Queen pay for what had happened to Sara. He could tell that his other self didn't think Queen had suffered enough while away on the island, but he didn't realize how wrong he was just yet.

_"I don't have to listen to this." Quentin said, storming past her._

_"And by the way," she added, "You're not the only one who misses them."_

_Quentin sighed, and then left as Laurel looked on sadly._  
  
Tommy reached back over and touched Laurel gently on the arm. She leaned into his shoulder and allowed him to wrap one arm around her. Right now, she wanted the additional comfort. She missed her mom every day, but similar to how she felt towards her father, she hated her mother for practically running away from everything that had happened in Starling.

_The scene changed back to Queen Manor. Oliver was in his room, working on his laptop and looking through the notebook when there was a knock on the door._

_"Yup?" Oliver called. Diggle opened the door and walked into the room. "Thank you for coming." Oliver said, and then added quietly "Shut the door."_

_Diggle did so and walked over to Oliver. "I guess it was just a matter of time before the police caught up with you."_

_"Except they didn't."_

_"Oliver, they got you on video." Diggle protested._

_"I knew the security camera was there, just like I knew the police would review the footage and arrest me." Oliver explained. "All part of the plan."_  
  
"He let himself get arrested?" Thea asked, unable to mask her shock. She would do anything to avoid being caught by the cops, but apparently, her brother was just that insane.

"Smart," Malcolm said with a shake of his head. When he noticed a few others were staring at him inquisitive, he decided to elaborate. He wanted to keep up the charade that all of this had nothing to do with him, but he didn't want to completely isolate himself out of the group. There was a lot he could learn. "Someone was bound to question the vigilante's timing and Oliver Queen's arrival back in Starling. He's working to erase suspicion by allowing himself to be publicly accused before getting all charges dropped."

"And how is he going to do that?" Quentin asked, not liking how it looked like he was tricked.

Malcolm only indicated back to the memory where Diggle stood.

_"So you wanted to get arrested?" Digg asked, confused._

_"Well, I returned to Starling City and a few days later, the vigilante appears." Oliver reasoned. "Sooner or later, somebody was going to make the connection."_

_"So what part of serving yourself up to the cops will help you avoid going to prison for the rest of your life?" Digg demanded._  
  
Not wanting to meet Malcolm's smug gaze, Quentin kept his eyes on the memory. He scowled with the knowledge that the only evidence he had gotten against the vigilante had been handed to him by said vigilante. His bruised pride said it all.

_"There's more to it."_

_"Well, there better be, for your sake, because your family is freaking out downstairs." He said, and then added "Oliver, your mother and your sister just got you back, and now you're going to put them through a trial, maybe even worse? Don't you care?" he pleaded._

_"Of course I care." Oliver stated, looking at the man. "The mission comes first." He leant forward and turned the laptop around to show a news article, complete with photo, to Digg._  
  
Thea and Moira looked as though they had been slapped. Both were ecstatic to have Oliver back or knowing they would soon enough, at the very least, but to hear Oliver flippantly blow off what they were feeling for the List was something else. To Thea, she felt crushed, but to Moira, she felt a small sense of pride. His father would be so proud to see his son trying desperately to change things.

_"Who is he?" the bodyguard asked._

_"Leo Mueller." Oliver started explaining. "German arms dealer. Suspected in the theft of a hundred M249 Squad Automatic Weapons."_

_"Ok." Digg said._

_"Last night he arrived in Starling City to sell the guns." Oliver finished._  
  
Groaning, Quentin tried not to imagine the Glades flooded with military grade guns. The city would be on fire, and he was sure that no one in SCPD had any idea that Leo Mueller was in town. Thus the only thing standing between these gang members and guns was the vigilante, who had an anklet on. He was beginning to see Oliver's plan, but he wasn't sure if Mr. Diggle would go for it just yet.

_"Oliver, don't you imagine there's enough trouble you're in this week than to go after this guy?" Digg argued._

_"I imagine what would happen if a street gang got their hands on military-grade hardware. I imagine our city's streets turned into a war zone." Oliver stated bluntly._

_"But you're under house arrest, Oliver, which means you can't just go after this guy." Digg pointed out._  
  
Thea's mouth formed an 'O' as she figured out exactly what her brother was planning. Tommy had finally caught on too while Laurel only sighed and shook her head. Slade was content to see that he had been right since the beginning of the memory. Glancing towards Artemis, he noticed that the archer switched between staring at him and staring at Malcolm. When she noticed his gaze, she focused back on him, bow raising an barely noticeable inch.

_"Look, for now, I would just like you to shadow Mueller." Oliver said. "I would like you to track his movements. I want to know where the buy is happening."_

_Digg sighed. "Ok." He agreed. "And how am I supposed to track him?"_

_Oliver smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you know us billionaire vigilantes" he said. "We do love our toys."_  
  
"How many billionaires are actually vigilantes?" Thea asked unbelieving. When she and the others heard Artemis snort, she spun and said, "Seriously?"

"You have no idea," Artemis responded with a grin thinking back the last few years… the two most note-worthy rich vigilantes after Oliver had to be Batman and ATOM. Both of whom were retired or semi-active at this point in the League.  
__  
_The scene changed to the Foundry. Digg flipped on the lights, illuminating Oliver's lair. He took his first clear look at the space and stared in wonder. He walked over to one of the work tables, stopping by a row of arrows that Oliver had made. Hesitantly, he touched his finger to the tip of the arrow. "Ow!" he shook his finger, then started looking around. Finally he found what he had been looking for, a small black case. He hefted it up onto a nearby table, then opened the lid. "Oooh." He said in admiration at the three magnetic GPS transponders. He pulled one out and turned it on, testing it. It beeped happily at him. "Oh, well, that's sweet." He said._  
  
"How do you think he hides all those charges?" Thea asked, tilting her head.

"Oliver does have control of his own credit cards," Tommy said thoughtfully.

Moira tried not think on what the credit card bill had to look like 'arrows, arrow heads, leather…' She hoped he did most of his purchases in cash or used a subsidiary to do all the purchases thus keeping his name off the books.

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Josiah Hudson, the head of security, entered Walter's office._

__Malcolm shifted in his seat, nudging Moira just barely to show that he was, in fact, paying attention now. Moira masked her fear and hoped that Walter wasn't what she thought he was doing. Malcolm wouldn't hesitate to take out another one of her husbands if he felt threatened enough, and she couldn't allow that to happen.

" _You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked Walter, who was standing behind his desk looking out the window. Walter turned and looked at the man._

_"No, I didn't." he said, giving the other man a meaningful look. "In fact, this meeting isn't taking place." Hudson nodded, and Walter indicated the seat in front of his desk. He took his own seat. "How long have you been head of security at Queen Consolidated, Josiah?" he asked._

_"Going on seven years now, sir." Josiah replied._

_Walter nodded to himself. "Sounds about right." He noted, leaning forward. "But what I'm about to tell you will test the bounds of your discretion." At the other man's nod, he continued. "You're aware of the 'Queen's Gambit', Robert Queen's ill-fated yacht?" he nodded again. "Well, I found it."_

__Malcolm glanced towards Moira, who refused to meet his gaze. If he wanted to berate her later, he was more than welcomed to, but she wasn't about to start here. She'd defend herself and Walter. There was more than enough dirt for her to expose to get Malcolm to back off. Shooting a glance towards Artemis, she had to wonder if the elder archer knew all of this. If so, why did Artemis want her to reveal Thea's true heritage? To her, Thea didn't need to know that she came from a monster.

_Josiah blinked. "Sir, the boat went down in the North China Sea five years ago."_

_"Which is why my discovery of its remains in a warehouse downtown was unexpected, to say the least." He handed the man a slip of paper with an address on it. "I want you to transfer those remains to a secure location. Can I count on you?"_

_Josiah nodded and chuckled. "What's going on, sir?" he asked, half concerned, half amused. Walter gave him a look that killed his amusement._

_"That's very much what I'm trying to determine." Walter said, ending the meeting._  
  
Malcolm glanced towards Moira and whispered, "Stop him." The 'Or' was left out, but Moira got the message. His dark enforcer would end this witch hunt if she didn't end it first. That terrified her to no end; she had leverage over Malcolm but nothing to stop his enforcer… save maybe her son.

_The scene shifted to SCPD. Laurel and Oliver made their way into the integration room, where Detective Lance and Kate Spencer were waiting for them._

_"Thank you both for coming." Spencer said as the two sat down across the table._

_"No, thank you." Oliver replied glibly. "It's nice to get out of the house."_

_"I'll cut right to it." Spencer glanced at Quentin, and then leaned forward. "Detective Lance arrested your client without consulting my office first. So congratulations. I am willing to consider a plea in this case."_  
  
"A plea?" Thea asked, not realizing at all what had just transpired between her mother and Malcolm. She was still unhappy about the fact her mother had Oliver kidnapped, but even she could see something larger at play. For now, she held her tongue and waited… only because she didn't want to keep interrupting the memories that might yield the answer as to how she became the archer in the corner.

_"Absolutely not." Oliver replied at once, garnering a look from Laurel._

_"He spent five years in seclusion on a deserted island, cut off from civilization." Spencer went on. "It is quite possible he's suffering from some form of post traumatic stress." She sat back. "Given that, we would support a plea of insanity." She offered. Oliver scoffed, even as she continued. "Conditional on a period of indeterminate incarceration at a psychiatric facility."_  
  
"What they mean is life," Laurel sighed. Any time a time period wasn't predetermined, the chances of someone actually leaving plummeted to nothing.

"So life in a jail cell or life in a padded cell?" Thea asked not liking her brother's choice.

"Better than death," Tommy pointed out before he realized his words. He immediately went quiet as he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Oliver in this time was, in fact, dead.

_"No, thank you." Oliver said again. "I'm not crazy."_

_"Finally something we agree on." Lance muttered. "He's not a nut, he's a killing machine." He glared at the younger man._  
  
"Seriously Dad?" Laurel asked incredulous.

"Well I'm right," he said. He didn't care that if his motives on arresting Oliver weren't pure.

_"Actually, I'm neither." Oliver replied._

_"There is nothing you can say to me that I would believe." Lance declared, giving Oliver an idea._

_"I'll take a polygraph." He offered._

_Laurel leaned back. "Uh, polygraphs are inadmissible." She told him over her shoulder._  
  
"Why are they inadmissible?" Thea asked, innocently enough.

"Because Ms. Queen," Slade answered, "some people are capable of controlling their body's reactions to anxiety and stress. They are easy to manipulate."

"But my brother…" she said trailing off. She couldn't argue that Oliver would not be able to do that. He had held his composure against gunfire, after all.

_"In front of the jury." Oliver agreed. He nodded at Quentin. "I'll take a polygraph in front of him. He's the one I need to convince."_

_"I'm going to need a minute." Laurel declared. The other two left the room, with Quentin shooting his daughter a look that she chose to ignore. When the door closed, she whirled around to Oliver. "You're looking at life in prison." She announced. "What Spencer just offered you is a gift."_  
  
"Life in a padded cell does not sound like a gift," Thea growled.

"For him, it might be," Laurel offered weakly.

_"I'm not crazy. I am innocent." He reiterated. "I kind of want to take the polygraph." He added cheerfully, and then said "And if I take it and I fail, then I will consider making a deal."_  
  
Slade couldn't help but be curious as to what questions would be asked. He could tell that the Detective was unable to hold his composure in either times; he did not expect the man to follow a list of approved questions before Lance went off track to prove something, anything right.

_Laurel looked at him and saw the sincerity in his face. "Fine." She said. "I'll set up the poly. And I will tell Spencer that we're not pleading out; but Oliver, you have a .People who actually care about you." She reminded him. "So don't, for one second, think you're the only person with something to lose here." She paused for a moment, then let out a long breath. "I'll be right back."_  
  
Moira, for one, prayed her son could beat the polygraph. She'd rather have her son free then spend any sort of time in a cell. Then there was the worry of what would happen if he was convicted. She didn't think he'd last a night in prison where he had helped put away a few criminals. That wasn't including what Malcolm might do to her son given the suspicion.

_The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver, his hands still tied, was being led into a military-style camp by two masked soldiers. He was guided into a large tent and pushed up against the support pole. He winced as his bad shoulder shit._

_Before him, seated behind a table, was a man in the same black uniform as everyone else, sans the mask. He was middle-aged and blonde, and when he spoke it was with a British accent._  
  
Slade was all too obvious when he growled loudly. Everyone wanted to ask who this man was, but no one wanted to tempt Slade's rage at the moment. If there was anyone Slade hated more than the kid, it was probably Fryers. It was because of that man that he had lost Wintergreen, and without Fryers, Shado never would have been on the Island to start.  
__  
"Please, sit." The man said, indicating a chair. "You're making me feel rude." Oliver dropped heavily into the chair. "I do apologize for my men's treatment of you." He continued, opening a soda and pouring it into a glass with ice. Oliver eyed the drink longingly. "They're trained to view any stranger as hostile.I'm Edward Fyers, by the way." He introduced himself. "And you are?"

_"I'm Oliver Queen." Oliver said after a moment. "I was shipwrecked here. I don't know for how long. My family has money." He said suddenly, desperately. "They have lots of money you would be you'd be really well compensated for my rescue." He assured him._

_"Well, I look forward to that." Fyers replied casually. "But for the moment, let's just talk."_  
  
Moira did not like where this conversation was going. She had never been contacted once about Oliver being alive, so whoever this man was, this conversation was not going to end well for her son. She just prayed that Oliver would find a way to escape.

_"About what?" Oliver asked tiredly._

_"Well, for instance this gentleman." Fyers reached behind him and pulled a photo off a crate. He showed it to Oliver. "Do you know him?"_

_The picture showed a younger and much cleaner Yao Fei, dressed in full PLA uniform. Oliver recognized him almost instantly, and for a second thought about saying so; but something about Fyers, his men and this whole camp was setting off alarm bells in the back of his mind._

_"No." he said after a pause._  
  
Cocking his head, Slade hadn't realized the kid had lied about knowing Yao Fei when he had first been captured. He had thought that perhaps the kid had just refused to give up the cave's location, so Slade had to give the kid some acknowledgement that he was protecting a man he barely knew.

"Why didn't he just tell him yes?" Thea wondered.

"Because it wouldn't have mattered," Artemis answered. "The truth here would not have helped Oliver."

Laurel and Tommy wanted to ask why, but they got the feeling that Artemis wouldn't be very forthcoming. The elder archer had tiptoed around a lot of information, only sharing when she thought it was necessary. That told them they'd get their answer soon enough they figured.

_"No?"_

_"No." he repeated firmly. "Who's he?"_

_Fyers smiled tightly. "You're a poor liar." He declared. He sat back in his chair and crossed him arms. "I've been polite. I'll offer you one more chance before my manners leave me."_  
  
Desperately, Moira wanted her son to tell this man the truth, but she could see it in her son's eyes that he wouldn't. Her son was a lot of things, back then, including loyal to friends. He had always wanted to protect Tommy; it seemed to be only Laurel that he had constantly broken.

_"Hey, hey…I don't know this guy." Oliver again argued. "I thought I was on this island all by myself."_

_"Do you know what this island is named?" Fyers asked. Oliver shook his head, and he continued. "We're on Lian Yu- Mandarin for 'Purgatory'," he leaned forward, his gaze boring into Oliver's eyes, "and I can make it feel like hell."_

__Malcolm leaned back in his chair, gaze steely. He didn't need to be told where this was going quickly, and he felt terrible for the Queen scion. However, he couldn't bate his curiosity about how this version of Oliver would deal with the pain in his future.

_Fyers got up and walked around the table so that he was standing by Oliver. "I don't know why you're protecting him." He said, looking down at the boy. "You're young, you don't know why, either." He considered, then in a harsher voice, "Think on that when you're begging for death." He walked out of the tent. As he went through the flap, he called out "He's yours now."_

_Oliver turned to see a large man, dressed in black body armor and a balaclava that was half gold, and half dark blue. He carried an uzi in his hand, wore a bandoleer across his chest with M433 grenades, a knife in his boot, and a sword slung across his back. Oliver wasn't paying attention to the weapons, however, he was looking at the man's eyes, the only human part he could see- eyes blacker than the body armor he wore._  
  
It felt like a life time since Slade had last seen Wintergreen, and all these years later, he only felt utter hatred for his once partner. Given the chance, he'd be more than willing to kill Wintergreen over and over again. That man had almost been the reason he had never left the Island and see his son again.

_The scene flashed back to Queen Manor. Workmen were busy setting up for the party. Thea was sitting out on the pool deck starring absently at the Hōzen Oliver had given her, lost in thought._

_"Hey, Speedy," Oliver called, poking his head out the door. "One of the workers left a keg too far from the you ask them to move it please?" he smiled and lifted his leg a bit, shaking the ankle monitor. "I got the ankle thingie. I don't want to set off a SWAT invasion." He joked. Thea gave him a devastated look. "Hey!" he said, coming out and sitting in the chair next to her. "All this stuff? It's going to be fine, I promise." He said sincerely._  
  
"How could he say that?" Thea muttered. "He is going to die."

"Not that day," Artemis added, seeing the sullen sink of her younger self's shoulders.

"But he does," Thea argued. "You told us, and because of what he does… because of me." She whispered the last part, unable to wrap her head around what she could have done exactly to force Oliver to save her. It terrified her to think that she had killed her brother in some small way.

_"Yeah, well, when you and dad left on the yacht, you promised me I'd see you in a few days." Thea pointed out sadly. "Which didn't happen."_  
  
Moira glared at Malcolm, who smartly did not meet her gaze.

_"This is different than that." He countered. "I didn't do any of this stuff, you know that." He paused, seeing her hesitancy. "Right?"_

_"You're out all the time." She said sadly. "You have those scars, and since you've been back, you've been acting really weird."_

_"None of this makes me some Robin Hood wannabe."_

_"And you get me this." She lifted up the Hōzen. "I mean, it's an arrowhead."_

_"Oh, man." He sighed. "Thea, I bought that in the gift shop of the Beijing airport." He lied. Oliver smiled. "Now I'm sort of happy I didn't buy you the shot glass with the panda on it, 'cause then you'd be worried I was panda man." He joked, finally drawing a smile out of Thea._  
  
"Why do I get the feeling that is not where he got it?" Thea sighed.

Tommy and Laurel smiled reassuringly at the younger Queen. They were whiplashed from watching this, but they couldn't imagine how the younger girl was feeling. After all, it was her older self standing watch over them, bow in hand, ice running in her veins.

_"You know, I knew you couldn't be this person." She chuckled. "I-I just… I can't lose you again."_

_"Deal." He agreed._

__Artemis closed her eyes trying not to focus on the fact on how she did lose Oliver. She had been forced to watch that night, fire draping the horizon. She had underestimated the League of Assassins and they dislike for being manipulated. It should have cost her her life; instead, it had taken her brother… then there were the others they had lost that night. Too much blood had been spilt that night.

_The scene changed to downtown Starling City. Moira walked into an office where Malcolm Merlyn sat, signing papers at his desk._  
  
Malcolm was beginning to get the distinct feeling that his lack of appearance in these memories was about to change. The thought of people seeing the real him excited him and made him nervous all the same. He had spent years honing his own mask, and he'd hate to see all that work for nothing…

_"Moira." He said pleasantly, putting down his pen. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."_

_"Would you please make this quick?" she asked, "I'm in the midst of somewhat of a family emergency."_

_"Yes, it's all over the local news." He chuckled. "Possibly even national."_

_"Well, I know what you're thinking." Moira began._

_"Do you?" he replied, the smile still on his face but an edge to his voice._  
  
When Moira moved to accuse Malcolm of what he planned, Artemis took a step forward, effectively silencing her. The end of the memory would reveal all, and Artemis wanted it to be seen first. Otherwise people would be less believing of the fact Malcolm Merlyn was a cold hearted mastermind.

_"My son is not the man targeting the list." She assured him. "The charges are preposterous."_

_"Not according to the district attorney, assistant district attorney, investigating detective in the police department that filed charges against him." He said harshly._

_"That detective has a vendetta against my family." Moira argued._

_"Why? Is there something untoward about your family?" Malcolm asked. Moira's eyes flickered to the second man in the room, Malcolm's bodyguard. Then she returned her gaze to Malcolm. "If so, something really needs to be done about that." He finished._  
  
"Did you just threaten my family?" Detective Lance practically roared. He reared to his feet in time for Artemis to shove him back down.

"Enough fighting," she growled.

"He!" Quentin began.

"I know, believe me, I know," Artemis reassured. "But this will get us nowhere." She would have let Detective throw a few punches if she hadn't known that Malcolm would practically respond a thousand times more vicious.

Malcolm glanced over towards Artemis and Quentin and shot the Detective a cold smile. Lance twitched with anger, but this time, he held himself in check. He was starting to see the real outline of Malcolm Merlyn and why this man was here.

"That List is yours isn't it?" he asked.

Without even glancing towards the Detective, Malcolm answered simply with, "Yes." Tommy's head swiveled towards his father, but he wasn't sure what was more shocking: the face his father had threatened someone or that this dreaded List was his.

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Oliver was hooked up to the polygraph. Laurel was seated beside him, while Quentin and the polygraph tech sat across the table._

_"Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin asked._

_"You don't know who I am, Detective?" Oliver joked._

_"The questions are to calibrate the polygraph. Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin demanded._

_"Yes."_

_"Were you born in Starling City May 16th, 1985?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Is your hair blue?"_

_"No."_  
  
"There was that one time," Tommy offered trying to break the tension. Artemis now leaned up against their couch, her eyes shifting from one person to the next looking for trouble.

_"Have you ever been to Iron Heights prison?" Quentin asked, looking at Oliver._

_"No." Oliver replied calmly. Laurel looked over at him, surprise registering on her face for a moment before she schooled her expression._  
  
"We went there on a school trip," Laurel muttered, suddenly trusting wholeheartedly that Oliver could beat this polygraph.

_Quentin pulled out the sketch of the Hood. "Are you the man in this picture?"_

_Oliver flashed back to his interrogation on the island by Fyers and Bill Wintergreen. "Where can I find the man in this picture?" Fyers demanded of Oliver, who was tied with his arms above his head to the support post in the middle of the tent. The masked man loomed menacingly behind him._  
  
"Please no," Moira whispered in fear.

_Back in the present, Oliver answered "No."_

_Quentin looked at the tech, who nodded, showing Oliver was telling the truth. Lance licked his teeth, then tried a different approach. "You steal 40 million dollars off Adam Hunt?" Quentin demanded._  
  
Slade grinned knowingly. He hadn't expected any less from the kid; if one could hold their tongue during torture, one could fake their way through a polygraph test.

" _No, I didn't." Oliver answered._

_"Were you marooned on an island called Lian Yu for 5 years?" Quentin asked._

_"Yes."_

_"How is that even relevant?" Laurel demanded, cutting in. Quentin glared at her._

_"I don't need to show relevance, but since you asked, whatever happened to your client on that island turned him into a cold blooded killer."_  
  
To Slade then, they needed to show the moment Oliver chose Sara over Shado. At least if the Detective wanted his answer they would need too.

_Oliver thought back to his torture on the island, of Wintergreen's sword cutting into his flesh as he screamed in pain._  
  
Thea cried out while Moira stifled her tears at the sight of her son being torn apart. Laurel buried her face into Tommy's shoulder, who only closed his eyes praying silently for a mute button. No one wanted to watch this except for maybe Slade.

As an ex-League member, Malcolm understood such pain all too well. For someone untrained and unexpecting, the pain would be impossible to block out. It showed how much more the young boy had gone through since this first scene. To learn to look past the pain and focus through it required years of training and mental honing. It was the only way to survive… but everyone still had their breaking point.

Quentin wanted nothing more than to look away, but this was his fault. He had asked the question, so he forced himself to watch it. No one deserved this…

_"The physician that examined you reported that is covered in scar tissue." Quentin stated coldly. Laurel glanced at Oliver in shock, the looked back to her father._

_"The machine won't work unless you ask a question." She said._

_"Did that happen to you there?" Quentin asked bluntly._

_His mind still on the torture, nevertheless Oliver managed to answer calmly, "Yes."_  
  
"Have you not done enough?" Thea said, her body shaking, tears running down her face. However, she hadn't shouted this at Quentin but at her older self. "Have we not seen enough? We get it. We don't need to see this."

Without breaking eye contact with the screen, Artemis answered cooly, "Yes you do." A crucible was needed if any change was to be expected.

_"When you came back, you told everyone that you were alone on that island." Quentin noted. "Are you claiming that your scars were self-inflicted?"_

_"No." Oliver admitted. "I wasn't alone. I didn't want to talk about what happened to me on the island." He said._

_"Why not?" Quentin asked._  
  
In the present, Quentin had the sense to look ashamed. He should have realized what the scars had meant, and perhaps he had. In his anger, he had purposely poked at a sore wound; he had wanted to hurt Queen… never realizing what that might entail.

_Oliver looked at the man steadily. "Because the people that were there tortured me." He admitted, to both Laurel and Quentin's shock._  
  
Thea curled in on herself, trying to forget her brother's screams; her hands were pressed firmly over her ears. She blocked out the world around herself. For the moment, Artemis allowed it. Her younger self was still so young and naïve.

_"Have you killed anyone?" Quentin asked._

_Oliver paused for a long moment, before looking back up at Lance. "Yes." He admitted._  
  
"He wouldn't just confess…" the Detective said slowly, thankful that the memories of Oliver being tortured seemed to have passed. He wasn't sure how much more he, himself, could take. However, that made him wonder exactly what Oliver would be opening up about if not the murders in Starling City.

_Quentin's eyes flickered towards Laurel, satisfaction clearly evident in his eyes. He looked back at Oliver. "When I asked your daughter Sara to come on my father's yacht with me." The young man finished brokenly, the very tenuous grip on his control slipping briefly. "I killed your daughter." He admitted again. He tore the sensors off his body, ignoring the look of rage and pain on Quentin's face and the look of sadness on Laurel's as he stormed out of the room._  
  
"He blames himself, isn't that not enough for you?" Moira said, still choked up over her son tied up and bleeding. "Has he not suffered enough?"

"Moira," Quentin said slowly. "I didn't know… I wouldn't…" He wanted to defend himself, but the fact was he had never stopped to wonder what had happened in those five years. He had only focused on what had happened to Sara.

_After the door closed, the Tech looked at Quentin. "I'd have to study the data, but just eyeballing it, he's telling the truth." He stated. Quentin hummed noncommittally._

_"Can I assume that you'll be recommending Ms. Spencer to drop all charges against my client?" Laurel asked, rising from her seat. Quentin shook his head._

_"No." he said. "I know a guilty man when I see one. He is guilty, whether you can see it or not." Laurel glared at her father, and then stormed out of the room, leaving Quentin there with his thoughts._  
  
The older business man was getting the impression that the Lance's would have to be dealt with in order for the Undertaking to proceed. The Detective was too stubborn to let things go, and had he caught wind of the Undertaking, Malcolm was certain that Lance would not stop until it was completely exposed. Something the Dark Archer could not allow. He shuddered to think how Ra's al Ghul would respond to his plan to level the Glades.

_The scene cut to Queen Manor later that night, and Oliver's party was in full swing. Oliver himself came out, dressed in a faux prison jumpsuit, and hopped on top of the small stage that had been erected. He mimed to the DJ to cut off the music, which she did promptly._  
  
At the sound of the music, Thea looked up to see her brother in a jumpsuit and laughed. "I'm glad to see he has a sense of humor about this," she mumbled. She rested her head back down on her knees, but this time, she kept her eyes on the screen.

_"Hi, everybody!" he yelled. The crowd yelled back in Lance looked up from the crowd in thinly veiled disgust. "I'm very touched that you came to celebrate with me before I am sent up the river! Closest neighbors are six miles away, so don't worry about the noise." He paused. "Actually, on second thought, let's wake those losers up!" The crowd roared and the DJ turned the music back on._  
  
"He does know how to throw a party," Tommy said with a small smile.

Laurel groaned, "He's going to get himself arrested for a noise complaint."

"Least of his worries though," Tommy jokingly replied. It was made in a half-attempt since he didn't find the other charges all that amusing.

_Oliver jumped down and walked through the crowd, careful to stay on the pool deck lest Lance have a reason to arrest him (again). He walked over to Diggle._

_"If you think this is what prison's like, you are in for a rude awakening." He joked as the two headed back inside._

_Secured in Oliver's room, he showed Digg his phone, which was tied into the GPS tracker. "Mueller's car has been parked in the warehouse district of the Glades for 45 minutes." Oliver stated._

_"Yeah, that's a good place for an arms deal." Digg noted. "Ok, since this is going down tonight, what do we do, drop a dime on Mueller with the cops?" he asked._

_"No, the man in the Hood." Oliver announced. "He's going to stop them."_  
  
Moira smiled seeing how this was going to go now. She thanked Oliver for having a plan, something to erase doubt of him being the Hood. Slade and Malcolm weren't shocked; they had been waiting the entire memory for Oliver to ask Mr. Diggle to put the Hood on.

"Great," Quentin grumbled seeing how he was about to lose his case.

_"Oliver, you can't leave the house." Diggle argued._

_"It doesn't have to be me in the hood." He replied, giving Diggle a significant look. Diggle chuckled, more out of annoyance than amusement._

_"That's why you threw this ridiculous party? So you have a hundred witnesses placing you here at the house while I'm supposed to be across town dressed as a vigilante?"_

_"I thought that it was going to be good enough just for you to be seen in the hood." Oliver explained. "I didn't count on Mueller showing up and I didn't count on the possibility that the Glades could be flooded with machine guns." At Diggle's glare, he softened his tone. "Look. I promise, it was never my intention to put you in harm's way." He said apologetically._  
  
"Will or won't he?" Tommy asked Laurel with a smile.

"Obviously will considering where we are sitting," she responded, glad that no one was currently at someone else's throat.

" _Oliver, I didn't think joining your crusade was ever going to be risk-free." Diggle said after a moment. "I just don't like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life, but I'm the one guy you don't lie to." He told him sternly. Oliver nodded in acceptance._

_"You're right. I'm sorry." He said sincerely. They stared at one another, and then Diggle walked past him. "So am I going to jail?" Oliver asked, a little desperation creeping into his voice. Digg turned to him._

_"No, man." He said. "I got to stop an arms deal."_  
  
"And there goes my case," Quentin growled in frustration.

"You didn't expect Oliver to be that easy to catch, did you?" Artemis asked amused. "He gave you the evidence you used to arrest him, after all."

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Walter was working late. His phone rand and he picked it up._

_"Hello?"_

_"Sir ," the voice on the other end of the call said, "I'm sorry to bother you, is Mike Vogel down in security. I'm afraid I have some sad news for company's head of security, Josiah Hudson, was in a car accident 's dead, sir." Walter stared at the phone in shock._  
  
Shifting slightly, Moira glared at Malcolm, who knowingly smiled. He could tell when something was his work, and it was easy to set up accidents when needed. It didn't always have to be his enforcer out, putting arrows into people. He did try to avoid it since the cause of death seemed to be a tad more extravagant that way; then again, with another archer in town, it would be easy to place blame on Oliver while using his Dark Archer to clean up a few less savory members of the List or those part of the Undertaking that were getting cold feet.

_Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was getting a drink at one of the bars set up in the foyer. He turned around to see Laurel walk in the door_

_"Hello." He said pleasantly. "Do we have a legal meeting or something? Because I have friends over."_

_Laurel looked around in bemusement. "Do you think maybe you can tear yourself away from this inappropriately themed rave for a couple minutes?" she asked wryly._

_Oliver led her up to his bedroom "Wow." She remarked upon seeing it. "I can't remember the last time that I've been in this room."_

_"I can." Oliver replied instantly. "Halloween, were getting ready for Tommy's party."_

_"Ah, Yes." She remembered, walking into the room. "I wore those horrible fishnets."_  
  
Roy unable to help himself said into Artemis's ear pierce, "Can I inform her what her newer costume looks like?" Artemis ignored him and pulled out the communicator for the moment.

_"I thought you looked good." Oliver remarked, closing the door. They both smiled at the memory._

_"Listen," Laurel began, turning to face him. "I just wanted to come by and apologize for my father's behavior the polygraph."_

_"You don't have to apologize for him." Oliver said. "He has a right to feel any way that he wants."_

_"It wasn't just Sara, Ollie."_

_"What do you mean?" he asked. Laurel took a moment to gather her thoughts._

_"After Sara died, my father threw himself into his work.I think that's part of the reason I'm an attorney. He ran to the law and I followed. But my mother couldn't." she explained. "So she left him." She sighed. "Left us." She stepped closer to him. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you this to make you feel bad, or worse. I just-I really want you to understand him."_

_"Why don't you hate me?" Oliver asked plaintively. "You should."_  
  
"Oh Oliver," Laurel said sadly. She might hate what he did, but she could never hate him. She had been in shock when he had returned, and she hoped given this second chance she could make him see that she could forgive his actions. There were too many years between them for her to just throw away for a stupid adolescent mistake. Five years on that island, no man deserved punishment such as that.

_"I did." Laurel agreed. "For so long, I did, after today, I realized that I was so focused on what happened to my family that I didn't even stop and wonder what could have happened to you." She exhaled loudly. "I didn't know about the torture, or your happened to you on that island was far more than you deserved. And I was wrong that I didn't ask you before, but I'm asking you now. I need to know .I need to see." she pleaded._  
  
Tommy cringed at the thought of how the Laurel on screen was beginning to fall for Oliver again. He could tell that she saw him as he kept saying he was: wounded. She had always been soft for those in need or in his case those with less than savory reputations. Tommy understood this and had loved Laurel for it, but he didn't want her to get hurt again.

_"Are you sure?" he asked._

_"Yes." At her answer, he slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to open it. Laurel did that, reaching up hesitantly and gently parting the shirt halves to reveal the scared tissue underneath. She gasped softly. "How did you survive this?" she asked softly._

_"There were times when I wanted to die." Oliver said truthfully. "In the end there was something I wanted more."_  
  
There were two things Malcolm could see that that to be: Ms. Lance and his city. Things like the former could be exploited if necessary. The Lances were a thorn, but perhaps for Malcolm, it would be better if he only took care of the father then used the daughter to control Oliver. Or… he glanced towards Thea. It was obvious that the boy would do anything to protect his sister, and the Lances would probably be too much of a hassle to keep alive. The sister would do well. Malcolm smiled to himself.

_Slowly they came together, until finally they were kissing. It was at once both sweet and desperate, a fulfillment of a longing both had long ago resigned to the past._

_Laurel was the one to finally break the kiss. "No." she gasped, backing away, shocked by her own actions. She practically ran past Oliver. Grabbing her purse from the ground as she opened the door._  
  
More than anything at first Tommy wanted to scowl then cheer. However, he didn't think Laurel would appreciate either, so he kept his arm wrapped around her and made no moves that he could help. Thea, on the other hand, could see right past Tommy's false bravado and tried not to roll her eyes.

" _Laurel, you don't have to go." Oliver said, pain and sadness creeping into his voice, but she was already gone._

_The scene flashed back to Lian Yu. Oliver as hanging by his wrests limply, blood oozing from several deep cut inflected by Wintergreen._  
  
Crude but effective, Slade couldn't help but think. Nonetheless, the kid had held on to what he knew and hadn't given up Yao Fei. Slade couldn't help but wonder why here Oliver had the strength to hold on here but not when it had come to Shado.

"You don't seem to like that man," Malcolm noted towards Slade. He had watched the mercenary scowl whenever the torturer had been on screen.

"He betrayed me," Slade growled unwilling to let the businessman think he had poked nothing more than a healed wound. "Godfather to my son, and he betrayed me." As Oliver had.

Artemis thought back on Joe Wilson. The last time she had seen him, they had been on opposite sides of the fight. Joe had taken up his father's mask, and she had run into him only a few years after Oliver had vanished from their lives. They had clashed, and she had done her best to get through to him. A small part of her had considered putting him down that night, if only to avoid the trouble Slade had given Oliver, but she had decided against it. She hadn't seen him since, but she had heard the rumor that he had switched sides after a brutal fight with Nightwing.

" _Amazing." Fyers said. Oliver forced himself to open his eyes, glaring weakly at the man. "You have resolve I didn't credit you for." He complimented, then considered. "Or perhaps he truly doesn't know should put him out of his misery." He told his masked assistant. Wintergreen moved forward-_  
  
Moira gripped the couch armrest, hoping for a miracle.

_Then suddenly Yao Fei was there. He took down one guard and Fyers, fired one arrow that severed the rope holding Oliver up, sending him crashing to the ground. Then he shot an arrow at Wintergreen- who caught is mere centimeters from his face. He snapped the arrowhead off with his thumb and drew his sword, and the two went back and forth furiously for several minutes. Yao Fei was able to use his bow to block the sword, and finally managed to get one good hit in on the masked man's face. The Asian then pulled up Oliver and dragged him out of the tent._  
  
She loosened her grip now that she had seen Oliver was out of that evil man's grasp. Moira did not know where this Yao Fei was in their time, but she at this point needed to thank him desperately for saving her son so many times.

_The scene shifted to the present. Down at the docks, Mueller was showing off his merchandise to a couple of gang bangers._

_"It's an M249 machine gun." He described, taking the weapon in question from his assistant and showing it off. "Gas-powered, air-cooled, fires up to 800 rounds per minute." He tossed it to the gang leader, who whistled in appreciation. Suddenly, the lights went out. Mueller looked around in alarm. He grabbed the gun out of the teen's hands. "We need to move, now!" he shouted, just as The Hood came out of the shadows. He took out the three gangbangers with fists and feet, finally catching the third in a chokehold and holding him until the boy passed out. Mueller and his men sped off in a Mercedes, leaving the tuck and his merchandise behind. With three gang members on the ground, Diggle looked around, satisfied._  
  
Tommy couldn't help but look a tad impressed. He hadn't thought Mr. Diggle would handle himself so well- ex-military or not. He had run into a few old soldiers that couldn't hold their own in a fight like that.

"You should probably hire Mr. Diggle anyway," Malcolm said towards Moira, who was still being cold towards him. "If only to give Oliver the necessary back-up."

The Detective tried to think of a few ways that perhaps he could arrest Mr. Diggle to prevent this, but he had begun to see that he had already used his badge irresponsibly enough.

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Walter was sitting behind his desk, steeling himself for the conversation that was soon to come. He looked up as Moira walked into the office._

_"I'm not accustomed to being summoned to the office in the middle of the night." She began, putting her purse down on a chair, "Well, what was it that was so important that I had to race down here?"_

_"I found the 'Queen's Gambit', Moira." Walter said without preamble. A look of panic and fear flitted across her face. "I know you secretly had the boat salvaged." He went on. "I wanted to move it to a more secure location before confronting you about it. In fact, I sent Josiah Hudson to the warehouse for precisely that purpose." He took a breath. "But he died mysteriously in a car accident." He looked at his wife. "I hope you now have a better understanding of why it is I've been so distant of late." He continued as she took a seat. "It's very disconcerting to discover that the person with whom you share your home, your bed and your heart has been lying to you so convincingly, and I would be a fool not to consider all the things that you have told me were lies."_  
  
Malcolm leaned in to say something when Thea spoke up, "What do you two keep whispering about?" She scooted to the edge of the couch. "You're always talking to each other… about what? The List?"

"Thea," Moira said, her voice tight. She didn't want her daughter and Malcolm speaking; she didn't care what Artemis said. Her daughter didn't need to know where she came from. Moira had to protect Thea at any cost and that included letting her think that Robert was her father.

_"Walter, you're my husband, I-" she tried, but he cut her off._

_"Yes, I am." He said coldly._

_"Walter, please." Moira stood. She looked pleadingly at her husband, "You've got to stop looking into this, it's not safe. You'll be-you'll be upsetting people, people with influence. You are very far out of your depth." She warned._  
  
"And now Walter?" Thea snapped. "Are you going to have him kidnapped next?" She eyed Mr. Merlyn hesitantly, but she didn't hide her scowl.

Slade was starting to see how this pathetic young girl would eventually turn into the archer in the room. The girl may have lacked a bit of courage, but she had a spine and some bite. That's all that was needed sometimes.

_Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was still holed up in his room when his phone rang. He answered it._

_"Man in the hood, one, gangbangers, zero." Diggle said._

_There was a knock at the door. "Hang on." He said to the phone, then put it to his chest. "Yeah?"_

_"Mr. Queen," outside the door, Malcolm Merlyn's bodyguard, dressed as a bartender, was quietly attaching a silencer to his pistol. "If you're entertaining guests upstairs, should I have some drinks sent up?" he called through the door._  
  
Whatever fight was about to transpire between Moira and her daughter ceased the moment the gunman came on the screen. While no one else might recognize that man, Malcolm and Moira did. She didn't hesitate this time in turning and slapping Malcolm as hard as she could muster. "You bastard! You will not have my son killed!" Not expecting a violent reaction, he hadn't stopped her, but the moment she went to try again, he snatched her wrist.

"Enough," he growled in warning. He felt the tip of an arrow pressed against the back of his neck.

"Let her go," Artemis snapped. "Or I sever your spinal cord… and unlike Slade, you won't recover from that." Across the room, the mercenary watched with piqued interest.

Malcolm could estimate the angle of the arrow based on how it was pressed against him, thus he could theoretically dodge it and snatch the bow away. That would reveal his skill though, and like Artemis had predicted, he let Moira go and held up his hands innocently.

"Dad," Tommy said in shock. He didn't want to believe his father would hire a hitman to kill his best friend.

Malcolm ignored Tommy though and addressed Artemis. "Are you going to lower the bow?"

"No," she snarled as she took a step back. This way Malcolm would have to cross more space to disarm her; she had made her point.

_"No." Oliver responded, getting up to rejoin the party. "It's just me up here and I'm on my way back down." Into his phone, he said quietly. "Good job. Now get back here." He went to open the door as he hung up his phone, and he was briefly startled by the bartender that was standing there. He was even more startled when the man brought his gun up. Acting on instinct, he grabbed the gunman's hand, forcing the gun away from his face, and punched him solidly on the jaw. He dragged the man into the room, quickly disarming him, but soon the man fought back. The two flew over the love seat and crashed through a coffee table, smashing it to bits. He tossed the killer across the room, inadvertently right to his gun. The man got up and was about to shoot Oliver when suddenly he was shot from behind by a charging Lance. The two men looked at one another in shock._  
  
"Thank you detective," Moira said truthfully, her glare never once leaving Malcolm.

"I put a target on his back," Quentin sighed. "Whether I was right or not, I'm sorry about that."

The Queen matron nodded, happy for the apology even if it took her son almost dying to get it.

_Later downstairs, Oliver and Thea were sitting on one of the couches in the sitting room, Oliver with an ice pack in hand. Tommy sat across from them in a chair. Lance was busy talking on his phone._

_"Yeah." Lance grunted into the phone. "Yep." He hung up and looked over at Oliver._

_"How did you know I was in trouble?" Oliver asked curiously._

_"Because when the guy was fighting you, he broke the ankle monitor." Lance responded truthfully._

_Just then, Moira and Walter walked in briskly. "Are you all right?!" she asked her son, panicked._

_"I'm fine."_

_"Oliver…"_

_"Mom. I promise." He assured her. That fear aside, she whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at Lance. "This is on you." She practically snarled. "By accusing my son publicly, you've made him a target."_

_"Do you have any idea who attacked Oliver?" Walter demanded._  
  
"Apparently my father," Tommy growled, and with Laurel shooting Malcolm a glare, she took Tommy's hand and pulled it into her lap. She wanted to reassure the younger Merlyn that she was here for him just as he had been here for her.

" _We haven't identified him." Lance admitted. "Though it must be someone with a grudge against the Hood, obviously." Lance moved towards Oliver and removed the ankle monitor._

_"What are you doing?" Oliver asked as he did it._

_"I got a call from my lieutenant. An arms dealer was attacked across town tonight." He paused, and then said reluctantly "By the vigilante. Multiple witnesses put him there." He turned to Moira. "In light of that, all charges against your son are being dropped."_

_"I'm truly sorry for what's happened to your family, Quentin." She said softly, and then her voice hardened. "But would you kindly get the hell out of my house." It was an order, not a question._

_"Mr. Lance," Oliver called out. "Thank you." He said sincerely. Lance nodded in reply, and then left._  
  
Laurel smiled at the sight of her father and her ex getting somewhat on more even ground. They were a far way from being okay with each other, but the truth of what Oliver had shared during the polygraph had helped to bring some closure to the Lance's in the memory and the present ones.

_The scene changed to the next day. Moira entered Malcolm's office as he was preparing to leave._

_"Moira." He said pleasantly. "Did we have an appointment?"_

_"No, but I decided to screw propriety after you tried to have my son killed." Moira shot back._

_Malcolm smiled slightly at the fire in her voice. "I'm sure you understand, I was justified in suspecting your son of being the vigilante targeting our associates." He explained calmly. "I had to take steps."_  
  
"You bastard," Tommy shouted. It was one thing to see Moira accuse his father, but to now hear it being true. He wanted to finish what Mrs. Queen had started, but the sight of Artemis, arrow notched at his father, kept him from moving. He wasn't sure why, but seeing an older version of Thea being so careful about how she stood created a pit in his stomach.

_"And now that you know your steps were taken in error; that Oliver is not your enemy." She asked. Malcolm chuckled._

_"I offer my sincerest apologies."_  
  
"Like hell you do," Moira growled as she forced herself to stand and move away from Malcolm. She glanced towards Artemis and tried to understand why Thea would even want to know the truth.

Over on the couch, Thea scooted over giving Moira just enough room to join them leaving Malcolm alone on his side of the room with Artemis keeping guard.

_Moira glared at him. "I know you found out I had the yacht salvaged, just as I know you had Josiah Hudson killed." She said pointedly._

_"Well, accidents tend to befall people who are too curious." He replied, equally pointed._

_"I've been the good soldier." She shot back. "I've done everything you asked. But if any member of my family so much as gets a paper cut, I will burn your entire world to ashes." She threatened, turning and walking out of the room. Malcolm smiled as she left._  
  
"I'm sure you would Moira," Malcolm said glancing towards the older woman. He had leverage still though- both her daughter and her husband. Both of which he was more than willing to exploit for his end goal.

_The scene changed back to the Manor. As Oliver was picking through the wreckage in his room, he found the small leather pouch that contained his healing herbs. He sat back down on his bed and stared at the bag, remembering._

_Flashback to the island, where Yao Fei helps a struggling Oliver into the cave. He laid him down on the cot._

_"I tell you, island dangerous, but you not tell them where to find me." He said in admiration, "You stronger than I thought." He held out the leather pouch containing the herbs. "Take it." He said, and Oliver did so. "I lead them off, you stay." He moved to the cave' entrance. "Remember, breathe." He called back. "You breathe, you survive here longer."_

_Oliver struggled to get to his feet. "No! I'm coming with you!" he called out, just as Yao Fei triggered a large rock to fall in front of the entrance, hiding it._  
  
"Why… why help him then trap him?" Thea asked, her gaze less on the memories and more on Artemis.

"Because he's injured and only a hindrance to Yao Fei," Slade explained, feeling in a giving mood. "At this point, the kid's practically useless in a fight."

_Back in the present, there was a knock on Oliver's door. It opened to reveal Laurel._

_"Rough party." He joked._

_"My father told me what happened." Laurel said. "Are you ok?"_

_"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her._

_Laurel held up a white envelope. "These are your polygraph results." She said, stepping closer. "My father asked you if you'd ever been to Iron Heights." She continued. "It's the prison where the vigilante saved me last week. It's also where you and I went on our eighth grade field trip." She added. Oliver kept his face blank. "When you said that you had never been there, I thought maybe you were just nervous, or that you'd forgotten. But then I looked at your results, and there is a slight flutter in your answer to that question. And if you lied on one, you could have lied on others." She finished._  
  
Slade wanted to mutter stupid kid; this girl was going to be the reason he was discovered if he wasn't more careful. The people closest to one were usually the most dangerous. It was why Slade planned to go after them first when he made his way to Starling.

_"What happened to me being too selfish to be a masked crusader?" he asked coldly._

_"Oliver! I saw your scars!" she exclaimed. Oliver looked away, and then moved to stand right in front of her. Though he didn't look at her; instead he kept his eyes on the ground._

_"Do you want to know why I don't talk about what happened to me there?" he asked. He finally looked right at her. "Because if people knew; if you knew… you'd see me differently. And not as some vigilante guy. As damaged." He sighed. "I don't sleep. I barely eat. I can barely sign my name, let alone aim a bow and arrow." He said emotionally, only partially lying._  
  
"Why can't we see the truth?" Laurel asked. "We all expect him to be the same old Oliver, but that would make no sense after five years."

"You see only what you want to see Ms. Lance," Malcolm said, appreciating the ease at which Oliver was keeping his cover. He watched as multiple people tried to stare daggers into him, but he ignored them with ease. The only person who had his attention besides the memory was Artemis behind him. With her stepped back, it would take considerably more skill to disarm her if necessary.

_Laurel took a breath. "After last night clearly we're still attracted to one another." She said. "Oliver. Nothing can ever happen between us." She stated._

_"I know." He replied. She handed him the results, then turned and left._

_The scene changed to the lair. Oliver was moving his munitions crate to the top of one of the work tables._

_"So you lied to her." Digg said, then added, "Or maybe you just gave her a version of the truth."_

_"I told her what she needed to hear, Diggle." Oliver argued. "She was too close."_

_"Sad thing is, I think you actually believe that." Digg countered. "I think things didn't go down exactly how you planned."_

_Diggle's voice continued as we see Thea, seated at her desk in her room, looking over an article about Oliver. She looked over, then picked up the Hōzen, studying it._

_"You didn't count on so many people having questions, doubting you. You didn't think about what happens when you when you lie to the ones you love the most."_  
  
"He doesn't have to be alone," Thea said. She couldn't imagine trying to keep up this charade and do everything her brother did.

"He's not now," Laurel said reassuringly. "And I don't mean with just Mr. Diggle." She looked over at the youngest Queen and smiled. "He'll have all of us." When she felt Tommy twitch, she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yes he will," Tommy echoed glaring at his father as he did so.

_Walter was in the Foyer, pulling a wheeled suitcase that he handed over to his driver. "Thank you, Chris." He said as Moira, clad in her pajamas, ran down the stairs. "Walter?" she called, stopping halfway down the stairs. "What is this?"_

_"Business trip." Walter announced. "I decided it's long overdue for me to inspect our holdings in Melbourne."_

_Moira read between the lines. "And how long will you be?" she asked, trying to reign in her emotions and failing._

_"I don't know." He said sadly, then walked out to his car._  
  
Closing her eyes, Moira tried to shut out the pain of losing her husband- not in death but in another way. At least in this way, he would be safe from Malcolm. Next to her, Thea cuddled closer, and Moira hugged her daughter in thanks.

_Diggle's voice continued. "When you were stuck on that island plotting your grand plan to save the city, I don't think you stopped to consider the effect it would have on the people in your life."_

_The scene cut to a bar, where a very drunk Lance sat slumped over the bar, chewing on a straw. Laurel came in, spotted her dad, and walked over to him. "Let's go." She announced, helping him to his feet. Lance grunted drunkenly. "You're ok. No, no, no." Laurel said as Lance reached for his drink, downing the last of it before he allowed her to guide him out of the bar._  
  
Looking ashamed, Quentin lowered his head. He had hoped he had gotten over this by now, but the memories of Sara had obviously struck him deep. Even in this time period, he wished he had a drink to try and deal with the anguish he was feeling now.

_Back at the Lair, Diggle finished. "Or how it might hurt them."_

_"You're wrong." Oliver denied. "I think about it all the time. And just to be clear, not being able to tell my family the truth…it doesn't hurt anyone worse than it hurts me." He finished, opening the case and pulling out the hood._

_"Where are you going?" Diggle asked worriedly._

_"Mueller still has to sell those guns and I have to stop him." He said coldly._

_"Oliver-" Digg called out._

_"He had his chance."_

_The scene changed to another warehouse down by the docks. Mueller was pitching his deal to another gang._

_"28 crates, four guns in each crate, $250,000 cash. Take it or leave it. That's the deal." He said. Then suddenly, The Hood- the REAL Hood was on them. He managed to take out the guards and the gang in under a minute, disabling them all with arrows and stiff blows. He finished and drew the bow back once more, his eyes locked on to Mueller's._

_"Leo Mueller, you have failed this city." The Hood intoned, and then let loose an arrow, right into Mueller's heart._  
  
Everyone in their own way was thankful that the memory had ended. They understood now why Artemis at every turn had left them with so little information. If they hadn't seen it, they wouldn't have believed it. Especially Tommy, he couldn't grasp how his own father could commit murder… but then again, he knew so little about his father as it was. 

"Are you done holding an arrow to me?" Malcolm asked, cooly.

"Depends," Artemis shrugged. "You done plotting how you're going to kill the Lances and use my mother and myself against Oliver?" She could tell whatever he as planning to say was nothing but a lie in how he held himself. It was something she had learned all those times she had trained with him; it had been in hindsight of course, but she had learned it. 

Lowering her bow, Artemis released her arrow into the back of the couch barely missing Malcolm as it came through the other side. He didn't react as she expected. "What did I say about keeping an open mind?" she growled.

"I am trying," he said truthfully.

"You two," she said towards Malcolm and Slade. "Try harder." With that, she pulled out her arrow and placed it back in her quiver. "Or know you'll meet the same fates as you do in these memories."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew this took some work, but hey here it is. Next chapter will be up within a week (I'm hoping to treat you guys special and maybe get one up sooner… but no promises)  
> Now as for special guests, those come and go. I'm sure some of you can guess a few while others I'm hoping to surprise you with. Have fun guessing


	9. Legacies

**Legacies**

Joe Wilson, known only as Ravager now, had just returned from Bludhaven when he had been summoned to the central chamber. He understood he was late by about a week due to his small detour to said city, but he had to keep up appearances. Orders stated as such- play both sides appropriately.

Walking into the main dais, Joe knelt and pulled back his hood. "Master," he whispered respectfully. When Joe had first met Ra's al Ghul, he had been none too impressed; he didn't understand how this man had defeated his disgraced father. Prior, he had fought the man's sister, and it had been close fight… the fight, if it could be called that, against Ra's had been swift and merciless. It had only been Ra's intrigue that had kept him alive that day, and that had been the moment he had sworn fealty to that man.

"You should have returned last week," Ra's said from his chair. Slowly, he stood and approached the kneeling Joe. If the boy had been on time, Oliver would have sent him instead of that other tracker to find Ta-er-Al-Sahfer. She wouldn't be incredibly difficult to find given he had sent her on this particular assassination himself, but Oliver held more trust in Joe's skill to remain undetected then the other assassin he had been forced to send. 

"I made a stop in Bludhaven," Joe outright admitted. "I thought it was time to check in with Richard." While he did not truly fight on the same side as Nightwing, he had a great deal of respect for the semi-active hero.

"And I will need you to again," Oliver said once he came to rest directly in front of Joe. "The Justice League is planning something."

"He won't tell me those details," Joe explained. He might be a reformed hero in some of the Justice League's eyes, others were too wary of him still. "What did you want me to do, Master?"

"I need you to be my ears," he replied, hand coming to rest on his sword. "I have already sent for Ta-er. She will join you soon."

"If she is caught in Bludhaven, the League will attempt to subdue her and take her to the Watchtower," Joe said in confusion. The Justice League and the League of Assassins had been more at odds recently, and while they did not always try to directly antagonize the other, the heroes had a list of assassins they were to 'arrest' on sight. 

"That's what I'm hoping for," he smiled.

…..

Artemis wanted nothing more than to find the Canary's sonic device and set it off in the room. Since the last memory had ended, the room was alternating between useless threats and utter silence. More than anything, she wanted to continue, but there wasn't much of a point with her mother menacing Malcolm every few moments. 

Across the room, Slade was in wholehearted agreement with Artemis that everyone needed to quiet down. He almost wished he had his blade if only to cut out a few tongues. Situations such as these, he simply did not have the patience for.

"You will not threaten my family," Lance and Moira practically growled together. Malcolm responded as he had for the last few minutes- silence and a concealed glare. 

"Dad," Tommy had reluctantly said eventually.

"I don't expect you to understand my actions Tommy, but I have my reasons," Malcolm assured his son, the only person he had addressed thus far in this mess. 

"If I had my gun…" Lance began, but the look Malcolm sent him froze him mid-sentence. The Detective wasn't sure why but he felt as though he was seeing the real Merlyn for a moment… and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end for it.

"But you don't," Artemis said, finally interrupting. "Thankfully," she added. Bullets on a space station never did well together. "Can we continue? Or would you rather continue to argue in circles?" She glanced to each person individually. "That will go over about as well as trying to tell my younger self about her terrible life choices."

"Hey," Thea said in a huff. 

"If you would?" Malcolm said indicating to the television. 

Artemis nodded, letting Roy, who could see her, know to start the next memory. The archer only hoped they'd find a way to make it through this set without any setbacks… however, she remembered these ones. She felt terrible for her younger self; the girl didn't know Tommy was her brother, and she was practically pining over him even here. Artemis decided then if Moira didn't say anything by the end of this memory, she would. 

_The scene opens as 3 men in hockey masks, each painted with a different playing card, storm into a bank at midday. All three carried AK-47's, and one carried a jackhammer on his back. Ace of spades raised his AK-47 and fired several shots into the ceiling.  
_  
It took a moment for Quentin to tear his gaze from Malcolm and back to the television. There was a sense of relief in him at seeing an older Thea hold a bow to Malcolm, but Lance tried not to scowl when she had purposefully missed. The situation had improved though with Artemis's words on their fate. She didn't directly say Malcolm was dead, but Lance thought she insinuated it enough.

Looking back at the memories, Lance noticed the three crooks and recognized their masks immediately. "Royal Flush Gang," he growled. They were known bank robbers, and he didn't like the sight of them in his city. They usually resulted in no casualties, but it didn't take much with a gun in someone's unstable hands.

_"As Kanye says, get 'em high!" Ace of Spades screamed._  
  
"Itchy trigger finger," Laurel said with a shake of her head. She hoped that someone would intervene before someone was killed.

"This is not going to end well," Tommy agreed, glaring at his father. He refused to accept his father's words on reasons. 

"Do you all need a time out in separate rooms or can you focus?" Artemis snapped as she herself took a seat next to Malcolm. She kept her bow out of reach, but as long as she was this close, she figured she could at least control her father. She'd be able to counter him; the only downside was that it limited her options against Slade. However for now, she figured he wouldn't do much since Shado was not on the screen yet. 

From the corner of her eye, Artemis could see Malcolm determining which way to disarm her. It was almost odd to think back now on all those training sessions with her father, and all the things he had taught her. "I have at least three knives you can't see," she quietly informed Malcolm. "Try and touch my bow." 

_"You better move! Move! Nobody lift their head, nobody gets hurt!" King of Spades said, leading the people out from behind the counter at gun point, directing them to lay with the other customers on the lobby floor._

_"Get down! Get on the floor right now!" Jack of Spades yelled. The bank manager looked up at him._

_"You can't jackhammer into the safe." He said. "It's too thick."_

_Ace of Spades slugged him. "Shut up!" he snarled. He began pacing, watching over the hostages as the other two members ran into the open safe._  
  
"Who in their right mind would come to Starling to steal money?" Tommy quipped. "I mean it has to have made it to the news by now that we have a vigilante situation."

"They probably don't think he'll target them," Laurel responded.

"I hope he does," Thea muttered not liking how terrified the gunmen were making those people. She wouldn't have been much better, but seeing her older self- the calm and collected persona-, she knew she eventually could be.

_"We're through!" one of them yelled out. "We got three minutes!"_

_"Make it 2!" Ace called back._

_On the ground, one man was slowly reaching back to a hidden ankle holster. A woman who was on the floor next to him stared at him with panicked eyes._

_"Are you trying to get us killed?" she whispered._

_"Don't worry." He assured her, using his other hand to pull his jacket away far enough to show his badge. "I'm a cop."_

Lance recognized that cop; they weren't drinking buddies or anything. However, he was friendly enough with the other cop. He hoped that either the cop would get the situation under control or not get himself killed.

_"Please don't do anything." She pleaded, her voice getting louder. "I don't want to die. Please!" her pleading drew the attention of Ace, who looked at the cop coldly before lowering his gun and shooting him several times in the back._  
  
Moira flinched unwittingly and closed her eyes at the brutality of it. Even her son at this point in his crusade had never done anything so cold. As she looked to Quentin, she could read the sadness on the Detective's face along with the reaffirming of what actual criminals did. Oliver, vigilante or not, was not like these robbers on the screen.

_King came rushing out of the vault. "What the hell's going on?" he demanded._

_"He was a freakin' cop." Ace snarled. King shoved him._

_"Enough throwing shots." He ordered. Suddenly the sounds of police sirens could be heard._

_"You hear that?" King asked._

_"Someone triggered the alarm!" Ace raged, beginning to lower his AK once more. King shoved it up into the air._  
  
"He was a good cop," Quentin growled. Shots like that were possible to survive, but it wouldn't be a simple trip to the ER. It would be months to years of rehab, if the bullets hadn't pierced anything incredibly important.

_"Don't!" he ordered. "That's it. Let's go."_

_Outside the bank, the police were setting up a barricade. Detective Hilton raised a megaphone and began to speak._

_"This is the Starling City police department." He announced. "Lay down your weapons and come out with your hands up." There was silence for a moment, and then suddenly the front doors were thrown open and over a dozen of people rushed out, all wearing cheap copies of the robber's hockey masks. "Hold your fire." Hilton yelled. "These are hostages. Contain the hostages! All units move in! Move in!"_  
  
At first, he thought had miscounted, but a quick double check proved Malcolm right. There was someone missing, and to him, it made logical sense to have a plant inside the bank. For the reasons such as having a cop there that the plant could spot. However, Malcolm was sure that shooting the officer had not been part of the plan.

"You counted?" Artemis asked in a whisper.

"Of course," Malcolm responded to her amusement.

_Hilton and a small squad moved into the bank, guns drawn. One of the officers stopped at the shot cop and checked for a pulse, which he found. He immediately called for an ambulance as Hilton and the rest moved further into the back. They made their way into the vault, where a hole had been cut in the floor._

_A block away, the robbers crawled out of an open manhole next to a waiting van._

_"Come here." King demanded, grabbing Ace's arm. "You shot a cop! This is not how we do things!"  
_  
Slade wanted to chuckle at the sight of King attempting to wrangle one of his crew members. He could see that there was a rift there- one that would lead to more deaths. Ace was unpredictable, useful in that sense, and dangerous in another. Ace was someone who would never listen to orders.

_"Me getting killed isn't how we do things, either, is it? Is it!" Ace demanded, pulling off his mask. King pulled his off as well, and immediately you could see the resemblance between the two men. "Get in the van!" he said, pushing his son onto the waiting van. He paused to look around to make sure there was no one watching. Seeing nothing, he closed the door, and the van sped off.  
_  
"Oh good a family of bank robbers," Tommy joked with a sigh.

Moira couldn't help but think of her family of vigilantes- her son, her daughter. Unable to help herself, Moira glanced towards the older version of her daughter to see Artemis was staring right into her. She hadn't told Thea the truth yet, but she wasn't sure she believed Artemis would do it for her either. However looking at the archer, Moira doubted that conclusion very suddenly. Thus, she quickly returned her attention to the memories.

"Something going on between you and your mother?" Malcolm asked, all too observant.

"Just the usual," Artemis said with a snort- usual secrets and lies. She didn't elaborate further even though she could tell she had piqued his interest.

_The scene changed to the lair, where a shirtless Oliver was sparring with Diggle with escrima sticks._  
  
Not wanting to see her brother practically naked, Thea covered her eyes but not quickly enough. She saw in those few seconds how Laurel was eyeing up her brother, and that made it all the worse. "I don't need to see you undressing my brother," Thea muttered to Laurel, whose cheeks immediately flushed with embarrassment. 

_The two moved in tandem, the sticks clanging loudly with each impact. Suddenly Diggle took a swipe at Oliver's head, which he easily ducked._

_"Anchor the rear hand, Diggle." He advised. "Come on."_  
  
It was oddly amusing to Slade to see the kid attempting to pass on the teachings from the Island. Another part of him, though, despised to see Oliver sharing something that had been theirs, Shado, himself, from purgatory angered him. It wasn't the kid's place in Slade's mind to suddenly be the teacher.

_"Ok." Digg responded, and the two started again, only for Oliver to quicken suddenly and smack the side of Diggle's jaw._

_"Uhh!" he exclaimed, touching his hand to his mouth._

_"Variable acceleration." Oliver explained, still circling his opponent. "Most fighters work at the same pace. You switch it up, you throw your opponent off his game."_  
  
"He's enjoying himself," Laurel said, stifling a laugh. She wasn't sure how she felt seeing Oliver being happy over a fight, but at least, he was smiling. She wasn't sure how often in these memories she had seen a real smile and not one of his masks.

Hearing Laurel's words, Thea glanced passed her fingers. She watched her brother dance around the ex-soldier, and she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

_"That was nice." Digg noted dryly. "Where'd you learn that?"_

_Oliver paused a moment before answering. "His name's Yao Fei." He said finally._

_"He give you those scars?"_

_"One of them."_

_"Any others?" At his silence, Digg pressed on. "You know, one day you're gonna be straight with me about what really happened on that island."_

_"Absolutely." Oliver said, and the two began again. This time Digg lasted six whole seconds before Oliver spun out of the way of his shot and took out Digg's knee. "But not today!" Oliver said jovially, walking away from the sparing area and back to his computer._  
  
The smile grew on Thea's face, and while she, herself, had no interest in fighting, she wondered now if she could convince her brother to spend some time helping her with her bow. She wasn't stupid; he wouldn't tell her he was the vigilante. "Maybe I should have him help me with my archery," she mentioned to her mother.

Moira nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he'd like that."

"Good idea," Malcolm echoed to Moira's annoyance.

"Yeah Oliver will do whatever he can to avoid revealing his identity," Artemis said in agreement, staring down Moira as she did so. "Giving him an outlet to let down his mask will help him come to you with this secret."

"Wait we aren't going to just tell him we know when we get back?" Tommy asked, never once considering such a situation.

To the elder Thea, it was refreshing to hear Tommy's voice again and hear remarks that were so him. Unable to help herself, she barked out a laugh and asked, "And how do you plan to explain to Ollie that you know? I think saying you went to the future might make him worry about who lost their mind."

"Oh," Tommy said, realization dawning.

"Well I'm still going to arrest him," Quentin announced.

"With what evidence?" Laurel asked stunned. "You can't arrest someone prior to the crime. And I doubt that Moira is planning to have Oliver kidnapped again, so you can't even charge him for that."

"I'll search the club's basement," Quentin argued.

"You'll need reasonable cause and a warrant," Laurel countered.

The detective glared at his daughter. "I got one in the last memory. I'm sure Queen will be unable to help himself and try something similar, opening the door for me."

Moira unwilling to risk her son, said, "I'll sell the factory when we get back. I'm sure Oliver will find another to use, but you won't know which one." She hoped her son could find another cover besides a club.

"And you can't go on a witch hunt," Laurel added.

Sighing, Artemis announced, "Enough. Give it to the end of this before you continue to talk about how you'll arrest my brother."

"Oh really?" Quentin asked.

Smiling, Artemis said smugly, "By the time this first year of him being back in Starling ends, you're helping him." She watched his face fall before twisting into confusion; she was sure he couldn't figure out the circumstances that would cause him to dance around the law he upheld.

The memory finally continued.

_"Still some pretty sweet moves." Digg noted, rising back to his feet._

_"Yep." Oliver said, pulling up a profile on his computer. "Tonight I'm gonna use them on him. Scott Morgan runs water and power in the Glades." He showed the screen to Diggle. "Jacks up the prices when people can't pay, shuts them down even in the dead of winter."_  
  
Thea scoffed and looked to the detective, "And your police do nothing."

"Thea," Moira scolded, but she was proud of how her daughter continuously stood up for her brother.

_"Which is at least a month away." Diggle noted. "Look at this." Digg pulled up a news article showing the bank robbery. "These guys started at Keystone 3 years ago, then began moving west, hitting banks along the way. This morning they hit Starling City Trust." At Oliver's blank look, he continued. "Shot an off-duty cop. He's in a coma and the doctors are saying it's a coin toss whether he'll make it."_

_"If he's a cop, SCPD will be all over it." Oliver reasoned, turning his attention back to Scott Morgan._  
  
"Yes we will," Quentin muttered, albeit quietly. He was still ashamed by what Artemis and then the younger Thea had said. The truth was SCPD was limited in what they could do when it came to some of the scum of the city; if Oliver could only stop dropping bodies… Quentin would be more willing to look past the vigilante illegal activity; however, now he was curious. The Royal Flush Gang weren't on the List, and they had no association with the List. To be something more than a murderer, Quentin needed to see Queen care about the city as a whole and not just as part of his 'crusade'.

_"Overwhelmed? Underfunded?" Digg argued. "Listen, these guys don't hit one time. They hit 2 or 3 banks per city, which means right now they're planning their next job."_

_"I think you have the wrong impression about what it is I do." Oliver said pointedly, starting down the bigger man._

_"You take out bad guys with a bow and arrow." Digg replied sarcastically, not backing down._

_"I don't fight street crime." Oliver explained. "That's a symptom of what's wrong with this city. I'm trying to cure the disease."_  
  
Shaking his head, Malcolm was torn between agreeing and disagreeing. He had tried himself to clean up the city with no results, and that had been with him focusing more on the street crime. However, he knew from experience that crime would always exist. This Watchtower was proof of that. He wondered how the young Queen would respond to seeing beyond the List.

_"CEOs and crooked entrepreneurs. I get it." Digg tried. "Listen, Oliver, I'm just saying, maybe you can make a difference if you think beyond the scope of those pages. I'm sure your father wouldn't mind."_

_"No, you don't get it." Oliver replied angrily. "My father died so that I could live. Live and make a difference by fixing the city that he and the people in this book ruined. Every name that I cross off this list honors that sacrifice."_  
  
It struck Moira deep how Oliver had taken what Robert had done. She wished in a small part that Robert had died on the yacht and not left Oliver with this mission, but another part was so proud at her son's conviction.

_"There's more than one way to save this city."_

_"Not for me." He replied coldly. "Crime happens in this city every day. What do you want me to do, stop all of it?"_

_Digg shook his head and walked past him, heading for the shower. "It sounds like you have a narrow definition of being a hero." He said as he passed._

_Oliver never bothered to look back at the man but quietly he responded "I'm not a hero."_  
  
The group's focus was broken when they each heard Slade snort in amusement. The mercenary was pleased to hear how the kid saw himself. When he noticed a few eyes on him, he scowled forcing their attention away

Both Laurel and Tommy frowned but thought on Ollie's words differently. They hadn't realized that Oliver did not see himself that way. As the vigilante, he had already made a difference in the city, so they had figured that's what Oliver would see himself as. It was a testament to truly how different he was. Tommy was thankful to some part that Oliver didn't see himself as a hero; heroes didn't drop bodies. Laurel, on the other hand, saw the law as broken in the Glades, and while she wouldn't call him a hero yet, she could see he was well on his way.

**FIVE YEARS AGO**

_The scene flashed back to the cave. Oliver is laying by a small fire, trying to stay warm. The fire dims, so he tears a page out of his father's notebook, crumples it up, and throws it in._  
  
Without seeing the page with names prior, Moira couldn't be certain who Oliver had burned away. It worried her to think her son didn't have a complete book; everyone in the List had reason to be there. She didn't want unknowns targeting her son. At least, Malcolm couldn't be certain what names were left out either, so to Moira, that made that avenue more closed as a possibility.

_He settles back down- but then is suddenly startled by a hand clamping down on his shoulder. Panicked, he staggers to his feet, only to see the last person he ever expected to see looking back at him._

_"Dad?" Oliver asked of Robert Queen, confused._  
  
"Dad?" Thea said hopeful before she remembered that he had shot himself. There was no way back from death, and she found her shoulders sinking. "Why is Oliver seeing Dad?"

Moira didn't want to crush her daughter anymore, so she didn't answer. Malcolm, on the other hand, didn't hesitate in saying, "He's dying… starvation, dehydration… his body and mind is reacting to it."

Tears in her eyes, Thea wished she hadn't asked. Artemis noticed Moira glaring at Malcolm, but to the elder Thea, she was thankful her father had been truthful. These memories were going to force her younger self to grow up quickly, and she knew now that she would have hated to be coddled.

**PRESENT**

_The scene flashed back to the present at CNRI._

_"Please tell me that this is a nightmare and I'm about to wake up." Laurel said despondently. "How can Stagg Industries pull out completely? They're our largest donor."_  
  
Laurel's mouth hung open. "Without them, we'll close." She couldn't imagine the Glades without the CNRI to help. It had been her job, and she loved it. Already, she began to plan ways to try and keep Stagg as a donor upon her return.

"I'm sorry Laurel," Quentin said, earning himself a small smile from his daughter.

"We'll figure it out," Tommy said with a nod. "Maybe we can throw a fundraiser?"

"A party?" Laurel sighed. "You want to throw a party?"

"Billionaire," Tommy reminded her. "One of mine or Oliver's parties and CNRI will be set." Across the way, Malcolm would have scolded his son for using money that he had barely worked for, but at least in this situation, Malcolm was glad to see that it would go to a good cause.

"The Queens would be happy to help host," Moira said.

"As will Merlyn Global," Malcolm said, and he watched his son glower. "CNRI does great work for the Glades." Then again, he was planning to level it all, so it could be construed as a waste of money. Perhaps… Malcolm could use it as good publicity at least in the meantime.

_"It's like they say—'It's the economy, stupid'." Joanna quipped._

_"No, it's the stupid economy." Laurel sighed. "Ok, without Stagg, how long can CNRI keep the doors open?" she asked._

_"It depends." Joanna said as they walked back to Laurel's desk. "What time you got?"_

_"I have fiesta time." Tommy joked, walking into the office towards the two women. "Or is it siesta time? Which one means a party and which one means a nap?"_  
  
To Malcolm, if Tommy put as much energy into anything else as he did into goofing off, the Merlyn heir would be quite successful. For a while now, Malcolm had considered teaching Tommy the true value of hard work, but he had waited. Due in part to his son losing his best friend, and he had felt terrible. It had been too late to find a way to call back the yacht when he had realized that Robert's son had accompanied the man to China. Malcolm's guilt had allowed Tommy to keep his trust fund; now though, with Oliver's return, perhaps he could finally push his son in the right direction- or at least any direction.

_Joanna shook her head and walked back to her own desk. Laurel sighed again, this time in annoyance. "Tommy, as much as I would love to relive 'Intro to Spanish' with you, today is not a good day."_

_"Of course not. Working in this tiny brick office is intolerable." He said as they walked over to her desk.  
_  
"Working for you period would be intolerable," Thea teased, grinning towards Tommy. Artemis shot a glare towards her mother, trying to convince Moira that this secret needed to end. The elder Thea remembered, partially, what happened that night. She remembered throwing herself at Tommy, and she felt bad for how the younger Thea would feel when she discovered or was told the truth.

_He leaned against a file cabinet. "Now, you know where is a spectacular place to spend the day? Coast City. Here's what I am thinking. Sunset flight on my private plane, dinner at Broome's, I'll have you home by midnight. Or maybe in the morning."  
_  
"You're intolerable," Laurel gaped. "I'm losing my job and you want me to jump on a plane?"

Tommy held up his hands innocently. "But I'm pretty sure that that me doesn't know that." He looked shunned to some degree, but Laurel immediately turned down the hostility and nodded. She could see he was right, and that wasn't fair to take out on him.

" _What is this?" Laurel asked, half confused and half annoyed._

_"This is what we talked about." Tommy replied. "This is you getting to know the real me."  
_  
"Don't you have another personality trait besides rich?" Thea asked, grinning.

"Charming?" he suggested with a shrug.

"Not the word I'd use," Laurel chortled.

" _Tommy, so you don't misunderstand, CNRI just lost its largest single donor." She explained. "Which means all of the hard work and sacrifices that I have made to help this legal clinic survive, it may have been for nothing."_

_Tommy looked at her, sitting at her desk despondently. "Maybe another time. Yeah?" He said, then turned and left._  
  
Frowning, Tommy mouthed the words 'sorry' to Laurel. She could tell she had been too harsh, so she only whispered back, "I know. Me too." Seeing the Tommy in these memories was giving Laurel a better clue into exactly what sort of person he was, and while not all of it was great, she could see he was trying. That meant something to her deeply. 

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Oliver and Thea were walking the halls._

_"I mean, haven't you noticed she's been acting a little down lately?" Thea asked her brother, then scoffed. "What am I saying? Of course you haven't."_  
  
Cringing, Thea tried to remind herself that the person on the screen did not know what she knew. She couldn't judge herself for being too bratty when she didn't know better, but still, she couldn't believe the words that would come out of her mouth half the time.

_"Well, who are you to judge? Since when do you pay attention to how mom's feeling?" Oliver shot back._

_"Since our stepfather suddenly decided to take a business trip halfway across the world." She replied as they headed down the stairs._

_"I think when someone at Walter's pay grade takes a business trip, it's always sudden, Thea." Oliver reasoned. "I wouldn't worry."  
_  
"He's an idiot," Thea sighed. "If I can see something, that's saying something."

"Your brother is… distracted," Moira said, trying not to imagine how she'd deal with Walter so far away. She was in the future and missing him desperately as it was.

Distracted Slade could work with. People made mistakes when distracted.

_"Ah," Moira said, spotting her two children as she but some fresh flowers on the small table in the entry hall. "Guess who I just hung up with?" she asked. Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "Janice Bowen. Carter's mother." She explained._  
  
"Oh not him," Tommy groaned to Laurel's amusement.

"What's wrong with Carter?" Moira asked.

"Ab-so-lut-ley nothing," Thea supplemented. "That's the problem." Her and Tommy beamed.

"Now I'm curious as to what he's up to in this time?" Laurel couldn't help but ask.

"Probably cured the world of cancer," Artemis said. "While winning the Nobel peace prize."

"Seriously?" Tommy asked.

Artemis thought back to the medical ward on the Watchtower. Carter had spent a few years working there before he, to her knowledge, had given up all his belongings to go do work in Africa. "He's working on it," she joked. "But he hasn't saved the world."

"You have?" Tommy asked.

Artemis grinned, "Multiple times."

_"Oh." The two said._

_"Carter Bowen. The perfect son." Oliver joked._

_"Is he perfect?" Moira asked teasingly._  
  
Thea snorted.

_"According to you." He smiled. "Carter Bowen just won the national chess championship." He began reciting. "Carter Bowen is anchoring the debate team." He turned to Thea._

_"I'm sure I didn't make that big of a fuss." Moira objected lightly._

_"Oliver, Carter just got accepted into Harvard and Princeton." Thea continued._  
  
"Oh just Harvard and Princeton?" Tommy asked.

"He turned down the others I'm sure," Thea explained.

"Oh stop it," Moira sighed. After everything they had seen, this scene was exactly what everyone needed. The anger in the room melted away with Carter as the new focus.

"Maybe I should arrest him," Quentin murmured. "You do seem to go after the guys I throw in jail," he said to Laurel.

_"Well, that's because Carter got a perfect score on his SATs." Oliver replied._

_"Now, how did he manage to study and cure cancer?" Thea wondered._

_"All right, all right, all right." Moira laughed. "I get it, I get it. Well, they're coming for brunch and I expect you to be there."_  
  
"What day is this on?" Thea asked. She looked to her mother. "So I can make plans now to miss this."

_"I have plans." Oliver said immediately. Moira smiled._

_"That's fine." She said. "Brunch is tomorrow."_  
  
"Now that's just evil," Thea frowned to Laurel and Tommy's amusement. "Why couldn't he be on the List?"

"Thea," Moira scolded. "He's not that terrible."

_Thea smiled wickedly at her brother. "Hmm. Inches from a clean getaway." She mocked._

_"Well, you, too, Thea." Moira added, looking at her daughter whose face fell._

_"Snap." Oliver said. Thea shot an annoyed glare at him._

_"Nobody says that anymore." She groused._

_"What?" he asked, then shook his head and turned back to Moira. "Mom. I can't actually go."_

_Moira looked at Oliver seriously. "I haven't seen the Bowens in years." She said calmly. "So whatever it is that you have planned, I'm sure the two of you can make the sacrifice just this once."_  
  
Grumbling under her breath, Thea muttered every curse she could think of, and Moira would have said something but even she was amused. She hadn't realized how much her children had disliked Carter, but he was such an impressive man. For the longest time, she had hoped he would rub off on Oliver.

_Oliver sighed, then set his shoulders. "We'll be there."_

_Thea gave a wan smile as she dropped her head, surrendering to the inevitable. Moira smiled at her two children and walked away._

_"I hate you." Thea told Oliver, not even looking at him before she too left. Oliver's phone rang._

_"Yeah." He answered._

_"You know your friend Scott Morgan from your father's list?" Digg said over the phone. "He tried to kill himself. Maybe he was afraid of getting a visit from you. How fast can you make it to Starling General?"  
_  
"Coward," Malcolm and Slade growled almost simultaneously. They stared at each other for a brief second, waiting to see who would break eye contact first. Artemis finished the contest early by elbowing Mr. Merlyn in the ribs.

Out of everything the League of Assassins did, suicide by cyanide was one of Malcolm's least favorite. He understood the need to avoid being captured, but he, for one, would rather fight to his last breath. From what he had glimpsed of Slade thus far, he was getting a familiar feeling that the mercenary would agree too.

" _On my way." Oliver replied, cutting the call. As he moved to walk out, Tommy walked in._

_"Hey, just the man I wanted to see." He said. "I just picked up a new sports car, and I'm thinking we can open her up, pick up a few speeding tickets-"_  
  
Groaning, Laurel looked to Tommy. "How do you even have your license anymore?"

He shrugged in response, but his cake-eating grin remained. He wished speeding tickets would apply to the car and not his license since thus far he was relatively lucky to not have a suspended license. His premium, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

The detective made note to have Tommy's car… or any future cars… impounded, especially if the young Merlyn continued to pursue his daughter. Lance did not want Laurel in any car with him.

_"That sounds great, but something's come up." Oliver interrupted, patting him on the shoulder. "I gotta jet." With that, he walked out the door to Tommy's disappointment and bewilderment._

_"Oh. Uh, okay. Nice talk. Thanks." Tommy shook his head._

_"He moves fast, doesn't he?"_

_Tommy turned to see Thea walking back into the foyer. He gave her a smile. "It's ironic, really, since you're the one we call Speedy."_

_Thea rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. For the love of God." She moaned. She gave him a compassionate look. "But if you need somebody to talk to, I'm here."_  
  
"Why Artemis?" Tommy asked. "Why not Speedy?" to Artemis's annoyance.

"Speedy doesn't exactly sound like a name for a vigilante," Laurel said, giving a shot at perhaps explaining the name.

"I was called Speedy when I first started," Artemis grumbled. "I eventually was able to change what I was called, and I chose this myself." She hadn't felt right keeping the nickname Oliver had given her after everything that had happened. "Since," she explained as she held up her bow.

"I don't…" Tommy started before Laurel sighed.

"Greek goddess… of the hunt," Laurel said.

_Tommy considered her offer. "You know, maybe you could help." He started. "There's this girl that I'm interested in. And I am really not sure how to pursue it."_

_Thea gave him a smile. "Have you tried using your usual lines? Hi, my name is Tommy Merlyn and I'm a billionaire, but I don't look like Warren Buffet."_

_"Yeah. She is aware of that, and she doesn't care." He said. Thea eyed him with interest now. "You know, money really isn't a big deal to her."_  
  
Seeing herself flirt with Tommy caused Thea to groan and wish that she could just poof out of existence. She was thankful her mother was on the couch now, so that she could maybe switch sides to put some more distance between herself and Tommy. Thea was getting the indication that Tommy wanted nothing to do with her and everything to do with Laurel… which annoyed the youngest Queen. Everyone in the room could see Laurel was still attracted to Oliver. To Thea, Tommy deserved all the attention.

Moira recognized the look in the memory Thea was giving Tommy, and she found herself seeking out Artemis immediately. The archer's smile was gone and set in a grim line. When she noticed Moira's stare, she didn't break it.

Observing Artemis and Moira's interactions over the course of the memory, Malcolm was beginning to wonder what all the hostility was about. He had thought a mother seeing her daughter, alive and grown, would be joyous, but they had avoided all contact practically since the cafeteria. It spurned Malcolm's interests, and he made a note to continue to see when the two would interact. Hopefully, that would give him some indication about what this all was about.

_"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" she asked._

_"Well, I've-I- I've known her for a long time, and I'm not sure the direct approach is really the right way to go." He explained._  
  
Per usual in the present viewing room, Tommy was not picking up on the subtle behavior of memory Thea. He was focused on the fact his interest in Laurel was once again front and center. Unlike him, Laurel did notice what the younger Queen was doing, and she felt terrible since it was obvious that the memory Thea had no idea that Tommy wasn't talking about her.

"Oh you know how to pick them," Quentin grumbled.

_"Maybe you just have to figure out what's a big deal to her and make it a big deal to you." Thea suggested, a warm look in her eyes._

_"Yeah." Tommy pepped up. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You are amazing. Love you!" he called as he ran out the door._  
  
Thea's words reverberated with the still clueless Tommy. He was a tad taken back with how right Thea was, and he was glad she was there to help him when Oliver had been too busy. "That's some really good advice Speedy," he said aloud much to Thea's embarrassment.

_The scene changed to Starling General Hospital. Oliver got off of his bike by the ER and walked up to Diggle, who was standing next to a newly-arrived ambulance._

_"You sure?" he asked his body man quietly as he joined him. "Scott Morgan doesn't seem like the type who would try to kill himself."_

_"True, but it's the best lie I could come up with on short notice." Digg said as Stan Washington was pulled out of the ambulance on a stretcher. His wife followed shortly behind._  
  
To Slade, it was the perfect lie as it worked nonetheless. The mercenary wondered how the kid would respond to being tricked and manipulated. This new version of the kid didn't seem to be the type to take to it well.

_"Mr. Diggle," she said, "I can't thank you enough for arranging to move my husband from County Ward to Starling General. Now I know he's getting the best care available."_

_Diggle smiled and indicated to Oliver. "You really should be thanking this man, Oliver Queen. He's paying the bill." He explained, more to Oliver than the distraught wife. He turned to Oliver, who was holding his anger at being played in check. "Jana's husband Stan is a police officer, who happened to have been making a deposit at Starling Trust Bank."  
_  
"I'm really liking this bodyguard," Thea teased happy that she was off screen now.

"I'm not sure Ollie is at this moment," Laurel responded noticing the shock and disdain at being tricked overtook Oliver's face in the memory.

_"The bank that was robbed." He said to Diggle shortly. He turned to Jana, sympathy now showing in his eyes. "I was so sorry to hear about your husband. Is he gonna be okay?" he asked._

_"The doctors say the next 24 hours are crucial." She said tearfully. She sighed. "He should have just kept his head down, you know?"  
_  
Quentin shook his head, "Stan's a good cop. He never could have done that if he thought he could do something." He was glad that Diggle had arranged to get Stan better care; the cop deserved it and more.

_"I've known a few police officers in my day." Digg noted, looking at Oliver now. "Always willing to help others even if that means putting themselves at risk."  
_  
Moira could see the lack of subtly Mr. Diggle was attempting, and she wasn't upset by it. She thought it was important for her son to do more than just chase criminals on the List; at the very least, perhaps by doing that, it would keep Malcolm at more than an arm's length from her son.

" _Thank you." She said again._

_"You're welcome." Oliver replied, and Jana moved to walk next to her husband as he was wheeled in. Oliver turned to Diggle with a scowl on his face._  
  
"I'd feel bad for him," Laurel teased, "but good for Mr. Diggle."

_"You lied to me."_

_Digg just gave him a look. "You asked me to work with you, not for you." He said plainly. "And when you did, you said it was because you understand the kind of man I am. Well, Oliver, I'm the kind of man who doesn't walk away when there's a chance to make a difference. And neither does Stan Washington." Oliver shook his head and walked back towards his bike. "Oliver, I'm not finished talking." He called after him. "Where are you going?"  
_  
Quentin rolled his eyes. "He's not going to change. His List is too important." Which to the detective was too bad; he didn't like the vigilante activity, but he'd be less bothered by the Hood chasing the Royal Flush Gang.

_"To go make a difference." He replied. "Let's catch some bank robbers."_  
  
Laurel glanced over to Quentin, who didn't even change his response. Instead, he scowled and continued to watch the memories, lips sealed tight. The lawyer couldn't help but wonder about what Artemis said- her father and Oliver working together outside of the law. She wanted to see what would lead to such a situation.

_The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver and Digg were going over surveillance footage from the bank._

_"See that guy right there?" he indicated Ace. "He's got a temper."_

_"And he shot Officer Washington." Oliver noted, studying the frozen footage._

_"That's right." Diggle agreed._

_"College ring." Oliver noted, looking at Ace's raised hand._

_"Or high school, more likely." Diggle offered._

_"That ring will get us an I.D." Oliver decided._  
  
Sadly, Quentin had to admit Queen was onto something. He was certain SCPD would have already taken into account the ring, but they were the police. That would be something they would do every day, and here Oliver was thinking it up on his own.

_"Yeah, but even with photo enhancement, you're gonna have a problem getting a clear shot of that ring."_

_"No, but it left an impression the police would have photographed." Oliver said. "It'll be in evidence lockup." Oliver stood and walked back towards his munitions box._  
  
"He wouldn't," Quentin said, not believing it for a second.

"Oh he would," Tommy argued. 

_Digg sat back down and began to study the footage some more, then suddenly looked up. "Please tell me you're not going where I think you're going."_

_"Diggle, why do you even ask?"_

_Later that night, The Hood found himself sneaking into the police station, crawling in through an unlocked window. And moving stealthily through the halls. He was forced to hide briefly from Detective Hilton by bracing himself on the ceiling; once the detective was gone, he crept into the bullpen and hacked into the S.C.P.D.'s evidence files, saving it to a flash drive. Once that was done, he left as silently as he entered, the cops none the wiser._  
  
"Sonofa…" Quentin growled. "I'm going to have motion detectors put in that room."

Malcolm was half-tempted to point out how easy those things were to trick; even someone untrained could do it with the right materials and no hacking skill. However, he wasn't in the giving mood to help the detective catch Oliver's other persona. Half of that was due to his own interests- the Hood in custody would do him no good and risked the List, and the other half came from the want to protect Robert's only son.

_The scene changed to CNRI the next Day. Laurel walked in to find Tommy leaning against Joanna's desk._

_"So, where are you gonna take me today? Monte Carlo?" she asked sarcastically._

_"Actually, I was just telling Jo here that the Merlyn Global Group is looking to expand its local philanthropy, and I thought that we could start by sponsoring a benefit for CNRI." He said with a smile.  
_  
Thea found her smile fading as she watched Tommy on screen work hard to gain Laurel's favor. "I'm not that bad, see?" Tommy said towards Laurel.

"No you are," Laurel argued, "but thank you." She was worried about CRNI, but this was a reminder she had friends that would help her and her job if necessary.

_"Thank you, Tommy, but I think we can manage without your family's finances." Laurel said frostily. Tommy's smile fell, and Joanna looked between the two._  
  
"Ouch," Thea laughed, annoyed at the memory now. She knew she was being petty and rubbing salt into Tommy's wounded pride, but for the moment, she didn't care.

"I didn't meant that," Laurel promised. She couldn't believe how much of an idiot she was being on screen. Her workplace was going to close, and her pride was getting in the way. Shaking her head, she looked to Tommy to see the hurt look still on his face. "I didn't mean that," she repeated. "Thank you."

While Tommy might have been doing the charity because of his interest in Laurel, he knew he was doing it mostly because he cared about her. Her work meant a lot to her, and to him that meant it meant a lot to him too. He heard her apology but brushed it off with a smile. The people in these memories were not them, and he just had to remind himself of that.

_"Laurel, a word?" she asked her friend, pulling her away. "Come on. What are you doing?" She asked._

_"He's not interested in throwing us a fundraiser." Laurel hissed. "What he wants to have is the first annual attempt to get back into my pants gala."_  
  
"That's not true," Tommy said, faking offense. When he noticed Laurel's glare, he added, "Not completely." 

Thea sighed loudly, much to Moira's worry. She hadn't thought her daughter would ever become interested in Tommy Merlyn, but until now, she hadn't seen it as an issue. Apparently, it was going to be. She'd have to think of some way to forbid Thea from seeing Tommy if the young Merlyn showed interest too. Currently though, Moira figured she would be okay since Tommy seemed completely smitten with Laurel. Thankfully. 

_"Who cares why he's doing it? We need the money." Joanna stated._

_"Not like that we don't." Laurel denied._

_"We really do." She reiterated. They both looked to Tommy, who flashed a hopeful grin. "So you're gonna listen to your best friend's advice." She continued. "You are gonna go over there and say, 'Thank you, Tommy, we'd be honored if you'd throw us a fundraiser'." She looked at Laurel expectantly._

_Laurel sighed in annoyance and turned back to her would-be suitor. "Thank you, Tommy. We would be honored for you to throw us a fundraiser." She deadpanned. Tommy gave a genuine smile._  
  
"You're welcome," Tommy said cheekily. Laurel swatted him gently on the arm and returned her focus to the television. She figured that when she returned to her time she could find a way to keep CRNI running without a fundraiser. However, she was relieved to have a back-up plan.

_The scene changed to the Foundry, where Oliver and Diggle were going over the forensic evidence from the shooting._

_"The bank manager Ace punched, his ring left a mark." Oliver stated, pulling up the picture. He ran the image through a few databases, and finally came up with a hit. "Larchmont High." He said, looking at Diggle. "High school." He noted, and Digg smiled. "I cross-referenced his height and relative age with a list of students and alumni."_

_"Still, that's a pretty long list." Digg noted. Oliver nodded._

_"It was." He said, pulling up another file. "I dug a little deeper and found Kyle Reston." The two stared at the picture on the screen. "Right before Kyle's senior year, not only did he drop out, he dropped off the grid. Along with his family- father, mother, younger brother."_

_"There are two other guys involved in this robbery." Digg said._  
  
"Maybe the mother decided not to join on this excursion?" Tommy suggested.

Rolling his one eye, Slade glanced towards Malcolm to see the businessman had figured it out long prior as well. He gestured for the businessman to explain it to those that couldn't apparently count.

"There was an extra woman inside the bank that did not exit," Malcolm said.

"What'd you do? Count them?" Quentin asked incredulous.

"Yes," he answered curtly.

_"And a woman." Oliver pulled up the footage from the robbery again. "Aside from Stan Washington, there were 22 customers and employees that came out of the bank- 9 men, 13 women. Inside the bank, 9 men, 14 women."_

_"They put a ringer in." Digg realized._  
  
Everyone glanced in shock towards Malcolm except for Slade and Artemis. Detective Lance had thought on that, but he hadn't been quick enough to count nor keep track of everyone on screen. It made him wonder exactly how Mr. Merlyn had acquired a skill or had thought to count those inside the bank and those that had left.

_"The mom." Oliver agreed._

_"The police are looking for a crew, we're gonna look for a family. Speaking of which," he rose from the desk, "I'm incredibly late for mine."_  
  
Moira sighed and realized that this would be something she would have to get used to. With Oliver's new nighttime hobby, she'd have to schedule around it or find ways to have things early morning when he'd be unable to ditch as easily. Vigilante or not, Oliver was going to spend time with his family Moira decided.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Moira and Thea were entertaining the Bowens._

_"Well, I'm sorry Walter couldn't join us." Janice was saying to Moira. Moira shrugged._

_"Oh, yes, well, the Australian trip came up suddenly." She explained smoothly. "He sends his apologies."_

_"Where's Oliver?" Carter asked. "He's not out of town, too, is he?"  
_  
"I'm sure he wishes he was back on the island," Thea muttered. "I know I'd rather be there." Next to her, Moira frowned.

"No you wouldn't," Artemis said, shuddering thinking back on one of her island excursions. At her younger self's inquisitive look, she answered, "Land mines." Then, she indicated an explosion with her hands.

" _Oh, I'm sure he's just-"_

_"Stuck in traffic." Oliver said, cutting off his mom as he strode into the room. "One of the things I didn't miss on the island- Sunday drivers." He smiled, and then gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late." He told her, and then hugged Thea._

_"Thank God you're here." She whispered, relieved. They parted and all three Queens looked at the Bowens, all smiles._  
  
"Can we not just skip this part of the memory?" Thea grumbled. Tommy and Laurel nodded encouragingly. None of them wanted to hear Carter brag about the greatness of his life that was sure to come in the next few moments.

_"It is so good to see you." Janice said, kissing Oliver on the cheek. "We all thought you were-"_

_"Oh, well, we are just happy he's home." Moira said, rubbing his back._

_He and Carter shook hands. "And returning a celebrity, too." Carter noted._

_"How do you mean?" Oliver asked pleasantly._

_"Billionaire scion, castaway for 5 years." Carter started as they took their places at the dining room table. "You know, there is a bidding war for the rights to your life story. At least that's what my agent says." He finished with a chuckle._  
  
"I'm sure he's trying to figure out a way to be a castaway himself now and write a book while curing every major disease," Thea added to which Moira finally shushed her.

Coming to her defense, Tommy added, "Not exactly a lie Mrs. Queen."

_"Agent? I thought you were a neurosurgeon, Carter." Oliver asked._

_"I know. It's crazy, right? One minute I'm publishing this book on how long-term potentiation initiates the creation of a slow-moving protein synthesis, and the next, there's an agent trying to make me the next Dr. Oz." Carter said, completely unaware how pretentious he sounded._  
  
Laurel covered her laugh with her hand while Thea groaned. Moira watched her daughter's reaction and realized that in the memory Carter did sound a tad… pompous. "Oh alright," she sighed finally. "We won't have them over for dinner."

"No mom, go ahead," Thea countered. "Just make sure you gag Carter prior." She smiled innocently enough.

_Oliver looked confused. "Why would he want you to be a wizard?" he asked, and everyone laughed._

_"Oh, Oliver." His mother said with a smile, shaking her head._

_Thea leaned into the table, looking at her brother. "For all our sakes, start reading Us Weekly." She advised. Oliver looked annoyed._

_"Well, the truth is, I just feel it's our duty as Starling City's more fortunate to help those most in need." Carter said._

_"Oh, of course." Moira agreed._

_"Wouldn't you agree, Oliver?" Carter asked the man. Oliver looked at him, a fake smile on his face.  
_  
"Ass," Thea growled. Laurel completely agreed, but she didn't voice it verbally. She could see that Carter wasn't trying to be an idiot, he just simply was one.

_"You're the hero, Carter."_  
  
"So is Oliver," Thea continued, happy to continue her anti-Carter tirade when he wasn't in the room.

"Your brother is a vigilante," Lance reminded Thea. "Carter saves lives as a doctor… legally."

Thea turned on Lance, "He saves the people who pay him." With that, she turned back to the television and continued to watch the memory. Unbeknownst to her, Artemis was proud to see her younger self taking a stand. It had taken years for her in her own timeline to do the same, so to see her younger self saying something and standing up consistently for Oliver told Artemis that this would work.

_"So now that you're back, what are your plans?" Janice asked. "Will you be taking a job with Queen Consolidated?"_

_"I'm opening a night club." Oliver replied. Thea let out a surprised snort of laughter; Moira just looked surprised. Before anyone could say anything, though, Diggle walked in with a phone in his hand._  
  
"What's he going to call it? Arrow?" Tommy asked.

Thinking back on the old club, Artemis smiled at the memory of the building… now long gone and lost in the fire. "Verdant. It's going to be called Verdant."

"Could be better but I like it," Thea said with a nod.

_"Sir, your liquor distributor's on the line." He said, leaning over to hand him the phone. With his back to the others, he whispered "First Bank of Starling was hit two minutes ago."_

_Oliver smiled pleasantly at the group. "Sorry," He said, rising from his chair, "business." He explained as he left to Moira's disappointment._  
  
"I'm sure he couldn't just say 'I have to go stop a robbery'," Quentin sighed. "Not like it isn't the cops' job." To everyone in the room, they could hear a hint of jealousy in the detective's voice. A cop had been shot by these guys, and with the Hood involved, it probably wouldn't be the cops that brought them down. Laurel didn't say it, but she figured with Oliver involved that the robbers wouldn't get away with it either.

_The two walked out into the foyer. "If the Restons' M.O. holds, they'll make their escape underground." Diggle explained softly. "First Bank of Starling is located right above the water treatment tunnels. The entrance is located here." He handed the phone to Oliver who studied it for a moment._

_Moira strode out of the dining room towards her son. "Oliver." She said sharply. "Where are you going?"_

_Oliver looked back at his mother with not a little sadness. "Something's come up." He said shortly. "I'm really sorry." He said as he and Diggle walked out, leaving an angry and hurt Moira behind._  
  
"Great he leaves me alone with them," Thea complained easing some of Moira's guilt at seeing her expression in the memory.

_The scene changed to First Bank of Starling. Hilton and his cops pulled up outside. Instead of going into the bank, though, they found the entrance to the service tunnel under the bank several feet away and went inside. They made their way in just as the three Reston's were making their way through the tunnel._

_"SCPD! Don't move!" Hilton screamed, gun drawn. Ace lifted his AK-47 and opened fire, causing he cops to duck for cover.  
_  
Quentin gripped the couch and hoped he wasn't about to watch his partner and friend die. If there was ever a time he wanted Oliver to show up with a bow in hand, this would be it. No more cops deserved to die because of one kid with an itchy trigger finger.

" _Enough!" King shouted, pushing his son behind cover as the police opened fire. "What are you doing?!" he demanded of Ace as he continued to fire on the cops._

_The Hood made his way down the hall, staying in the shadows and out of the line of fire. He spotted one back of cash on the ground and fired a special arrow at it. Upon impact, six thin but highly durable wires came out of the tip and bound secured the bag to the ground. He fired another, conventional arrow at Ace, knocking the gun out of his hands.  
_  
Tilting his head, Malcolm considered the use of the trick arrow. He, himself, had never used them, preferring the conventional arrow tips, but he could see the advantages now. The ones he had always prior seen used were ones that were gimmicky or useless, but that wire arrow would be very useful in subduing those running from his Dark Archer persona. However since he didn't know how to make them himself, he figured he'd had to make a quiet stop into Oliver's foundry when the boy was out.

Letting out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding, Lance relaxed barely at the sight of Oliver protecting his friends and fellow officers. At least in this instance, he was thankful for the vigilante's interference.

_"Let's get out of here!" Jack yelled, even as a third arrow knocked the bag from his shoulders and secured it to the ground like the first. Ace ran to the bag and tried to break the cables; he couldn't._

_"Forget it!" King yelled, pulling his son from the bag._

_"The cash!" Ace wailed._  
  
"Greedy," Slade reproached. He could see with a kid like that that this robbery life this family had delved themselves into would end soon enough- either with the entire family dead or in jail. To him, greed was honor-less.

_"Let's go!" King shouted, hauling his son away and towards their exit. The Hood watched them leave, but before he could pursue, he heard the cops behind him._

_"All right, let's move!" Hilton yelled to his men. Suddenly he spotted the Hood. "It's the vigilante!" he called out. The Hood spun and fired an arrow into an electrical box, shorting out the lights. Then he melded into the shadows, even as Hilton and his men continued to search for the robbers, and him._  
  
"Glad to see the cops are more concerned about catching Ollie then the actual bank robbers," Laurel sighed unbelieving about the focus of the officers. She glanced towards her father expecting some off-hand comment about vigilantism, but what she saw instead was her father nodding his agreement. 

_The scene changed to the next day at Queen Consolidated. Oliver had borrowed Walter's office, and sat across from Felicity as Diggle perched on Walter's desk._

_"I should add "personal Internet researcher for Oliver Queen" to my job title." Felicity mumbled out loud as she opened up her laptop. Oliver cleared his throat lightly and she looked up and smiled. "Happily, I mean." She assured him as she pushed her glasses back up._  
  
No one was sure of what to make of Felicity just yet; she hadn't appeared that much for anyone to make a solid opinion on what her presence meant. Similar to Diggle though, Malcolm had noticed, that Oliver's cover stories were lackluster when he attempted to explain his reasons.

Moira knew when she returned to her time that she was certainly going to run Felicity's background check again personally. She didn't want to risk her son with the IT poking around.

_"His name is Derek Reston." Oliver told her. "We were close before I went away. And I want to get back in touch."_

_"I guess you didn't have Facebook on that island." She said as she ran the search._

_"Nope. Not even a MySpace account." Digg joked. "It was a very dark time."_

_Felicity finished her search and started going through the data. "Well, there's not much here that's recent. No credit activity. No utility bills." An old image of Derek Reston's Staff ID card popped up. "Well, I guess you guys must have met at the factory." She guessed._

_"Wait. What-what factory?" he asked, leaning forward.  
_  
"How does he keep his identity secret?" Thea mused.

" _The Queen Steel Factory." She replied. "Derek Reston worked there for 15 years until it shut down in '07."_

_"Derek Reston worked for my father?" Oliver asked, surprised._

_"You weren't really close friends, huh?" she noted wryly. Oliver gave her a look, and she continued. "It looks like Derek was the factory Foreman until your dad outsourced production to China. About 1,500 employees got laid off. Looks like the finance guys even found a loophole in the union contract, so, they didn't have to pay severance packages and pensions to their employees. They all pretty much lost their homes. Including your friend." She finished, looking him in the eye.  
_  
Answering Thea's earlier question, Laurel said, "I'm not really sure." She found how easily Ollie lied to all of them disheartening, but when it came to others, his act seemingly fell apart. She found herself so very gullible suddenly along with the others with how very easily they each had fallen for his act…

**FIVE YEARS AGO**

_The scene flashed back to the cave, where a stunned Oliver stood across from his father.  
_  
Closing her eyes, Moira wished for these flashbacks to just stop. She hated seeing her son like this- broken and dying… and all because of the man next to the older version of her daughter. It just didn't seem plausible to Moira for her daughter to be okay with the monster that was her father, and it made even less sense to her to share the secret.

More than anything, Moira wanted to snap at Malcolm how this was his fault, but she realized how much that would reveal about the Undertaking. And as much as she hated Malcolm, she feared him more than enough to keep her mouth shut.

" _You died." He whispered._

_"I asked you, I begged you to survive." Robert stated. "But if you don't think you can…" he stepped up to Oliver, pulling the gun out from behind his back. He held it out to his son. "There's still one bullet left." He told him. Oliver reached out for the gun. "But, Oliver, my death is made meaningless by yours."_

_Oliver took the gun, held it in his hands, looked at it. He looked up at his dad. "I'm starving. I'm gonna die anyway, and I just want it to be quick. I want it to be quick, like yours was."_

_"You can survive this." Robert pleaded._

_"No, I can't. I'm not as strong as you think I am. And I'm sorry." He put the gun to his temple…_  
  
Next to her, Moira felt Thea cling to her side. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she almost lost her conviction to keep herself quiet. Instead, she settled on a glare towards Malcolm, who wasn't even paying attention. Artemis was, though, and the archer indicated to her younger self while mouthing the word 'truth'. Moira had to wonder if the elder Thea knew what sort of man Malcolm was… she couldn't help but question that perhaps the Undertaking was never discovered and all of Malcolm's involvement in this only revolved around the List.

**PRESENT**

_The scene flashed back to QC. Oliver and Diggle were heading out of Walter's office towards the elevators._

_"The Restons just got home after 5 years of being away." Oliver was saying to Digg. "Those factory guys hung out at a bar after work. I'm going down there. Hopefully Derek Reston wants to take a stroll down memory lane."_

_"And if by some miracle Reston's there?" Digg asked.  
_  
Tommy prayed that Oliver wouldn't go shoot an arrow into a bar full of people, but he wasn't sure. Deep down, he knew that there was no way Ollie could, and he felt terrible for thinking that as it was.

" _I'm gonna give him the chance to do the right thing." He replied, waiting for the elevator._  
  
There was a collective sigh of relief around the room, and Tommy felt a tad more vindicated to know he wasn't the only one worried about how Oliver had been planning to proceed. Malcolm was one of the few that wasn't pleased with the choice of action; to the Dark Archer, it would have been simpler to just end any chance of the robbers striking again.

_"Oliver, he already had his chance to do the right thing. It's called not being a criminal."_

_"This is happening because of my father." Oliver said plainly. "Because of my family."_

_"No." Diggle argued. "You're worried about the wrong thing. It's not your fault. The Restons aren't the victims."_

_"My family stole from this city." Oliver explained. "They hurt the people in it. And I am hell-bent on making that right." The elevator door opened, and Oliver stepped in alone. "For Derek Reston, that means giving him the chance to make it right."_  
  
Laurel was unable to cease the grin that crossed her face at Ollie's words. That was the Oliver she knew and had loved at one point.

Detective Lance felt torn. On one hand, he hated what Queen was doing as it was against the law, but another part of him felt the need to give credit where credit was due. A murderer would have without a second thought removed Derek permanently. Lance couldn't help but feel something… exactly what he wasn't sure yet…

_The scene changed to CNRI, where Tommy and Laurel were pouring over details for the upcoming fundraiser._

_"Hey, don't fade on me now." Tommy said as Laurel sighed. "We have about 10,000 more decisions to make." She smiled at him; he smiled in return. "Now, cake- chocolate or mocha?"_

_"Mmm….Carrot." she decided._

_"Are you sure about that? Because Bugs Bunny hasn't RSVP'd yet." Tommy joked, and they both laughed quietly. Laurel looked him over, a serious look in her eyes._

_"Tell me, why the full-court press? Asking me to Coast City, the fundraiser- why now?" she finally asked._

_Tommy let out a long breath, gathering his thoughts. He leaned back in his chair and began. "You know, I was in a bar last week, and I was talking to this girl, and things were progressing, if you know what I mean."_  
  
Laurel wasn't sure where this was going, but one look at Tommy told her it was going to go one of two ways: she'd enjoy what he'd say or despise him for the rest of their friendship. She had put two and two together from meeting her older self; this Ted was most likely her husband… which made her wonder what happened with Tommy. It terrified her to think that she would see herself fall for him in these memories only to see him then turn around and break her heart.

_"No. You're too subtle." They both laughed again, but the smile quickly fell off his face._

_"Anyway, we finally go back to her place, and I realize all of a sudden- That I'd been there before." He sighed. "Been with her before. Two years ago. Just didn't remember. So I left." He leaned in, elbows on the table, a small smile on his face again. "You know, I remember some of the mornings when you and I were together and I made you omelets." Laurel smiled at the memory. "And I'd be in your kitchen and I would think to myself, this isn't just fun. This is more than fun. This is this is different. I never felt that way with anybody else. And I miss it." He ended, leaning back in his chair. The two stare at each other for a moment before Tommy went back to the fundraiser papers.  
_  
Thea unconsciously shifted away from the couple making gooey eyes at each other on the couch. She still wasn't thrilled with how Laurel was hung up on her brother, but even Thea knew when it was better to keep her mouth shut… for the moment.

"Is that true?" Laurel asked, partially unbelieving of what Tommy Merlyn, playboy, party goer, etc. had just said on screen.

Tommy looked a tad embarrassed, something that was new for him. "Look Laurel," he began, not sure how to phrase it any better than his onscreen version.

"Alright you two lovebirds," Artemis said seriously from the couch. "After." Even years later, the last thing she wanted to hear was Laurel and Tommy dance around how they felt, give in for a short time, then go back to dancing around it. Maybe if she was lucky, they'd get this figured out prior to heading back in the past where she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. Her younger self would get over Tommy quickly once the truth was out… and Roy showed up.

In Artemis's ear, Roy teased, "I can tell when you're thinking about me." Much to her annoyance, he was right.

" _Not mocha. Carrot."_

_"Carrot." She agreed._

_The scene changed to a bar in the Glades. Derek Reston was finishing up a game of poker with some of his old coworkers. Everyone was smiles and handshakes as Derek started gathering the deck up and the men got up._

_"Ok, fellas. Thanks for playing." Derek said with a smile. He absently shuffled the deck, but looked up when someone took the seat across from him._

_"Mind if I sit in?"_

_Derek looked across coldly at the younger man. "Oliver Queen. The prodigal son returns." He declared. "I didn't figure you for someone who would hang out in the Glades."_

_"My father used to bring me here after we visited the factory." Oliver said wistfully. "There was a Pac-man machine in the back. I had the high score for two months."_

_Derek gave him a grim smile. "The last time I saw your dad, he was making a speech, telling my crew not to believe all the gossip, that there was no way Queen Consolidated was moving production to China." He land in closer. "A week later, they closed the doors. I didn't even get the two weeks vacation pay due to me."_  
  
Moira felt terrible about how Robert had to suddenly close the factory, but she understood her husband's reasoning once she had known the truth. If it hadn't been for that damn factory, Robert wouldn't have been under Malcolm's thumb and might not have died because of the Undertaking. Robert had cared enough about Malcolm to not divulge the plan, but Moira was convinced that some of that loyalty was born out of the need to repay Malcolm for his deed to cover up the accident.

_"My father made mistakes." Oliver stated simply. "He hurt people. When people are hurt, people are in trouble, they tend to make the wrong choices. Right, Derek?" Derek leaned back, considering the man before him. "But those choices don't have to define you, they don't have to define who your family will be, because there's always one moment when you can turn it all around." Oliver continued. "If my father had another chance, I think he'd do things differently. But time ran out for him."_

_"How poetic." Derek spat. "That doesn't help me get my house back, now, does it?"_

_"No, it doesn't." Oliver granted. "No, all I can offer you is an apology and a job. Queen Consolidated has subsidiaries all over the country. I make one phone call, you start next week. So what do you say?" he offered.  
_  
While not overly fond of Oliver's direction, Malcolm was impressed by the other archer's attempt at ending things peacefully. He wondered briefly if Derek would take the offer or try one more job. 

_Derek seemed to consider it for just a moment, before his face hardened once more. "How about I still have some pride left? I don't need charity from the son of the man who screwed me over."  
_  
Quentin cursed under his breath. He'd rather throw Derek into a jail cell along with his sociopathic son, but between not catching them period and having the robbers give up their life of crime, he'd take the latter. As long as they were off the streets, he'd accept it… and if he got the chance to arrest the son too. Then he'd accept it.

_"Ok. If you change your mind…" he pulled out a business card. Oliver stood and moved next to Derek. "You and I have one thing in common." He stated. "We're both dealing with the consequences of my fathers' actions. What he did then, that's on him. What we do now," he placed the card on the table in front of the man, "that's on us." As he walked past, he dropped a small bug into the pocket of his jacket._  
  
Artemis cringed remembering quite clearly when her Laurel had quoted that basically right to her. She had just admitted to killing Sara under Malcolm, and elder Laurel had wasted no time in telling her that the past was on him but the future was on her. That day she had almost killed her father and her brother.

To the archer, she wasn't sure she could say that was the day the rift between herself and elder Laurel started. On the other hand, she was convinced that was the day the threads were undone. The tear became unfixable the day Oliver left them, both of them. Artemis had seen it in the Canary's eyes after what had transpired, and her Laurel blamed her and her father for what had happened… and the truth of it was, Artemis couldn't exactly say it wasn't.

_Later that night, Oliver sat in the lair, listening to the conversation Derek was having with his wife._

_"I've been thinking, baby, maybe you were right. Maybe it's time to hang it up, retire." He was saying_

_"But Kyle says we do one more or he'll go out on his own." His wife argued._

_"Well, if that's what he wants to do, that's his right, but you and me and Teddy, we're out."_

_"I want to quit, too, but I am not leaving without Kyle."_  
  
"He's going to do one more," Quentin frowned.

"Why?" Tommy asked.

"He loves his wife," was all the detective said all knowing.

_"What's this?" Digg asked as he came into the lair._

_"I dropped a bug in Derek Reston's jacket."_

_Digg looked at Oliver. "I thought you were going to give the man a second chance."_

_"That's what I believe in." Oliver replied. "I also believe in covering all my bases."  
_  
At least the kid learned something, Slade thought to himself. He had wondered how Queen was going to handle determining if Derek had given up his life of crime or not. Now that it was obvious the Royal Flush gang was in for one more, Slade was curious to see if the kid would kill the entire family or not.

" _Derek, we can't abandon our son. After all this time, he wants to end up a winner. Set for life. Otherwise what was the point?" she asked._

_"All right." Derek said. "One more." Oliver turned off the recording and sighed._

_"Now what?" Digg asked._

_"We take them down."_  
  
"I was hoping to avoid four body bags," Quentin admitted, but to him, he was in agreement with Dig. The family had made their choice. While he didn't want them dead, he didn't want them on the streets either. 

_The scene changed to a swank downtown ballroom where Tommy had set up the CNRI Benefit Gala. Outside the doors, Oliver was handing Diggle a radio with earpiece._

_"We monitor the Reston's with this." He said as Digg put the earpiece into his ear. "When you get a line on their plans, we move."_

_"And you're gonna do another abrupt exit?" Digg asked._

_"I'm getting better at it with practice." Oliver replied with a smile._  
  
"No he's not," Thea grumbled, still annoying knowing her self in the memory had been ditched to be with Carter.

_Inside, Tommy was talking to the hostess. "Honey, keep the alcohol flowing." He told her. He turned and saw Laurel walking in. He smiled widely at her. "I can't-wow." He stumbled as she came up to him, a smile on her face as well. "You look just really lovely."_

_"Lovely." Laurel noted with a teasing voice. "Well, it's nice that you've extended your vocabulary from words like hot and mega hot."_  
  
"You are that too," Tommy offered with a cheeky grin.

"Aren't you sweet," Laurel responded.

_"You can just say thank you, you know."_

_Laurel smiled at him sincerely. "Thank you. You know?"_

_"You're welcome."_

_"Tommy." Joanne came up to the two. "This is wonderful. It means the world to us." She assured him. He smiled, and then saw someone he recognized._  
  
"You know…" Tommy began before he convinced himself to continue. "We could still hold the benefit prior to your main donator jumping ship…" He trailed off when he realized he bad pun. "If it'd help, I mean."

Grateful, Laurel said, "Thank you." She then turned towards Malcolm and repeated it. Seeing Tommy's kicked look, she quickly explained, "Technically Merlyn Global is holding it… so only fair."

"Thank you Ms. Lance," Malcolm said, much to his son's grievance.

_"Oh, God. Excuse me, just for a second." He said, moving off towards the coat check._

_Joanne turned to Laurel. "So?"_

_"You were right." She told her friend._

_At the coat check, a smiling Tommy came up to the newly arrived Thea Queen. "Thank you for coming." He told her, kissing her on the cheek._  
  
Knowing what was coming, Thea wished she would just disappear right now… melt into nothing, but she was getting the feeling that would not happen. She was not that lucky.

_"Thank you for inviting me." She replied, smiling._

_"Well, I figured the entire Queen family and their checkbooks should be present."_

_"Oh, right. And how is that going for you so far?" she asked._

_"It is going amazing. And all thanks to you." He assured her. "You know- Thea Queen, the unlikely voice of reason."_

_"Little old me? What did I do?" she asked._

_"You gave me that great advice." He replied. "I thought about what the girl was interested in, and, uh…" he turned, looking at Laurel. Thea saw where he was looking, and instantly her heart broke._

_"And you did this for Laurel." She said shakily. Tommy didn't notice._  
  
Tommy in the viewing room did notice though, and realization dawned over his face. "Thea," he said shakenly. "I'm…"

"Don't… just don't," she growled not wanting to hear his empty apologies.

"You're like my sister," he offered to Artemis's utter amusement.

"Great, not even friendzoned," she said with a roll of her eyes. "At least I'm not hung up on another guy." She felt terrible as the words tumbled out of her mouth, but she didn't entirely care at this point.

"Thea," Laurel began, frowning. "I'm not…"

"Oh please, you can't take your eyes off my brother," she snorted. "Lucky him I guess. I mean he screws your sister and you're still willing to…" The next words she had planned to say froze on her tongue the moment she realized Artemis was staring into her. She noticed her older self's bow had gone from leaning against the leg to her older self's lap.

Artemis had expected this, and it had been unconsciously that she had brought her bow up. It was only when she saw the fear on her younger self's face that she noticed she had done it. Artemis wished Moira would have told Thea the truth prior; the memory couldn't have been avoided but the fight might have been.

The only two people seemingly unaffected by the potential argument were Slade and Malcolm. Quentin was trying his best not to berate the youngest Queen as he understood heartbreak, and he could see she had convinced herself that it had been about her. He knew the younger Thea had only lashed out because it had hurt.

"Apologize," Artemis warned. When Thea refused too, Artemis had had enough. "When this memory is over, me, you, Mom, and the Merlyn's are going to talk." She watched as her mother's eyes widened a fraction while everyone else looked confused as to why this specific group needed to be pulled aside.

_"And it's working. Thanks again, Speedy." He bumped her gently on the shoulder. She gave him a brittle smile._

_"Yeah. Anytime." She said, then as soon as he was away, found the roving waiter, grabbed a glass of champagne, and downed it._

_Tommy walked back over to Laurel. "Oh, Tommy," she said, "do you remember Carter Bowen from high school?"_  
  
For a moment, Tommy had been unable to tear his eyes from the two Thea's in the room, but hearing Carter's name pulled him away from his curiosity and back to the screen. "Oh good my turn to deal with him."

_Tommy faked a smile. "Oh, yeah, sure I do." He shook his hand. "So glad you could make it."_

_Carter nodded. Then turned back to Laurel. "It's so great to see you. You look amazing." Tommy's smile became even more forced as Carter continued. "I gotta say I'm so impressed with the work that you and CNRI are doing."_

_"Thanks, Carter." Laurel replied kindly._

_"You know, I've actually been thinking about starting a free clinic down here in the Glades."_  
  
"Of course he is," Thea grumbled. This time even Carter's presence wasn't enough to defuse the bomb that was brewing, this time between Laurel, Tommy, and Thea.

Artemis figured pulling the group apart would help calm things for a few minutes while she told her younger self the truth. Glancing towards Malcolm, she hoped that knowing his relation to her would help to skew his thoughts on what he was seeing. She couldn't help but notice he was still looking for loopholes and ways to fix his plans. Then again, Slade wasn't much better, but she knew that wouldn't change until he was shown in the memories and that had begun.

_"Really?" Tommy said. Carter nodded, and then turned back to Laurel. "Can we grab a couple drinks and I'll tell you what I'm thinking."_

_"That sounds great." Laurel said. She smiled at Tommy as Carter led her away. As her back turned, the smile slowly fell off his face, a look of melancholy replacing it._  
  
"Him?" Tommy said sullenly.

Feeling bad for the Merlyn, Laurel laughed and said seriously, "He's a pompous ass." That immediately cheered Tommy's mood.

_Oliver spotted his mother at the bar and headed towards her. "Hi." He said, coming up next to her. Moira glanced at her son, and then looked back at the bartender._

_"Excuse me." She said politely, and then turned back to Oliver. "Well. I'm surprised you made it tonight, given your hectic schedule."_

_"Mom, I messed up with the Bowens yesterday." Oliver said, not unkindly. "I made you a promise, I couldn't keep it."_

_"Well, it's nothing new for you, Oliver." She shot back. "I know you and I have had our difficulties, but despite all my many mistakes, I always thought that you and I had a connection. So can you imagine, just imagine, after being granted the miracle of having my child returned to me that you seem to have little or no interest in being with me or telling me the truth." Before she could continue, Diggle came up to Oliver. She glared at him._  
  
"I'm such an idiot for not seeing," Moira commented. She couldn't believe how blind she was in what her son was doing. He wasn't coming right out in saying it, but his random comings and goings weren't exactly subtle either.

_"Ma'am." He said politely, and then turned to face Oliver. "Redwood United Bank. They're gonna try a nighttime hit." He said quietly, and then moved off. Oliver steeled himself, sighing internally as he looked at the disappointment on his mother's face. "I have to go. I'm sorry-"_

_"No, don't bother apologizing." She sighed. "Honestly, Oliver, there are times when I wonder why you bothered coming home at all."_  
  
A small part of Artemis wondered how everyone in the room would handle knowing what became of Star City… but she could already tell she was dropping a lot on them, and this was only the beginning. They would never each that if she stuck to her plan of only showing the memories until the climb.

_The scene changed to Redwood United Bank. Derek and Kyle, in their masks, made their way into the bank and knocked out the guard while the other two family members waited in the van. The two laid a mall charge on the vault and blew it, destroying the lock and opening the vault. Once inside, both men lifted their masks and began to fill bags with money._

_"3 Minutes" Kyle said._

_"OK." Derek replied. They worked in silence for several seconds, but then a loud sound from the lobby caught their attention._

_"You hear that?" Kyle asked his father. After a few seconds of listening, he said "I'll check it out."_

_"Alright." Derek agreed, going back to loading money in the bags. Kyle took the safety off his gun, picked up a surprise, and cautiously walked out into the lobby- where he saw The Hood._

_"Kyle Reston." The Hood growled, firing off an arrow. Kyle lifted the surprise- a plastic riot shield that blocked the arrow.  
_  
"He learned," Quentin said, and Slade had to agree.

The mercenary quickly eyed up all the vulnerable points through and around the shield. He didn't use a bow, so finding weak points with his sword or fists was very much easier.

_"I came prepared." He snarled, firing his AK. The Hood dived over the counter, out of the line of fire. Inside the vault, Derek dropped the money, lifted his AK and pulled down his mask, heading out to check on Kyle. In the lobby, Kyle was looking over the counter for The Hood, but saw no one. He turned around- just in time to get an arrow in the shoulder. Kyle grunted in pain, then used the edge of the shield to break off the shaft of the arrow. He threw it to the ground in disgust and blocked a second arrow with the shield. Kyle charged at The Hood, ramming into him with the shield and forcing him back through several glass partitions to the far wall. The two started fighting, with The Hood pelting Kyle with blows from his bow which he blocked with his riot shield._  
  
Everyone waited with baited breath to see how Oliver would handle this. 

_In the lobby, the guard finally came around. Seeing what was going on, he reached for his pistol, only to find it wasn't there. He scrambled to his feet and ran into the security office to grab the shotgun. He came out just as The Hood knocked Kyle down to the floor._

_"Freeze!" she shouted, pointing the gun at The Hood._

_Oliver held up a placating hand. "No, hey, I got this." He started, but just then Derek Reston ran out of the vault, his gun level and ready to fire. The Hood spun and shot an arrow, knocking the gun from his hands just as Kyle grabbed his fallen AK. He got to his feet, raising the gun towards the guard._  
  
"This isn't going to end well," Quentin said with a shake of his head. He worried about who would end up shot at this point. If the guard had only not shown up… and the detective couldn't believe that such a thought crossed his mind.

_"Drop your weapon! Now!" The guard shouted, and then fired._

_"No!" Derek yelled, diving in front of his son and taking the blast to his chest. The Hood disarmed Kyle, flipped him to the ground, and then smashed him in the mask with his bow, knocking him out. Oliver got up and looked towards Kyle, while the guard stood, stunned, not knowing what to do._

_"He's bleeding out." The Hood said, moving to kneel next to Derek. He looked up at the guard. "Call an ambulance. Now!" The guard nodded and made his way back into the security office._  
  
"He's dead," Malcolm said.

"How would you know that?" Tommy growled.

"No ambulance will arrive on time to stop the bleeding," Malcolm explained calmly. "He will be dead on scene." 

_"Kyle! Kyle." Derek gasped out._

_"He's okay." Oliver said, lowering his hood so that Derek could see his face. "He's just knocked out."_  
  
"I underestimated him," Quentin admitted, and to Artemis's ears, it was the phrase she had been waiting to hear. Now if she could only hear something similar from Malcolm or Slade… then she could say mission accomplished.

_"It wasn't his fault. I turned my son into this." Oliver closed his eyes, remembering…_  
  
**FIVE YEARS AGO**

_Oliver pulled the trigger; the gun clicked, empty._  
  
Thea couldn't help how she flinched when Oliver had pulled the trigger. She found tears forming in her eyes to see her brother so destroyed to the point he would kill himself. This was not the cocky big brother that had left her, and everything bad she had said to him thus far made her feel even more guilty now. 

_Frustrated, he threw the gun to the ground._

_"Of course it doesn't work." Oliver said, realization dawning. "I'm hallucinating. Or I'm dreaming."_

_"But if you weren't… you betrayed me, Oliver." Robert said, disgusted. "I died so that you could live, and you threw that gift away. You made that sacrifice empty."_

_"I'm not you." Oliver argued. "I'm not. I'm not strong like you. I never was."_

_"I told you, I'm not the man you think I am. The things I've done. What I was about to do." Robert said._

_"Dad, what does that mean? Please?" Oliver pleaded. "I don't know what that means."_

_"I told you. I begged you. Right my wrongs!" Robert sighed. "This is your responsibility now."_

_"How? How do I do this? I can't even get off this island."_

_Robert came over to his son and put his hands on Oliver's shoulders. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about me. But I hope… I hope that you know that I love you."_  
  
Malcolm was thankful Robert hadn't divulged too much about the List to Oliver; that would make the things easier back in their own time. However, it would be an uphill battle obviously if he wanted to bring Oliver into the fold. The younger archer seemingly had a very narrow view on how he could save the city, and the eldest Merlyn would be happy to brighten those ideas.

**PRESENT**

_The sounds of sirens drew Oliver back into the present. On the floor, Derek Reston died. Oliver looked at him sadly, then pulled up his hood and made his way out of the bank just as SWAT made their way in._  
  
At least it wasn't four body bags, Quentin thought quietly.

_The scene changed back to the CNRI gala. Tommy was sitting at the bar, sipping on a bourbon and watching Laurel dance happily with Carter Bowen with sad eyes._

_"Did you know that as a doctor, I was able to diagnose myself as a giant tool?" he said mockingly as he took another sip._  
  
"Tommy," Laurel scolded with a laugh. "Was that necessary:"

"Isn't it true?" he countered with ease. They were ready to continue bantering had Thea not chosen that moment to sigh very loudly. Not wanting to start back up, they each smartly quieted down. A few of them hoped the memory was at its end here soon. 

_Suddenly a very drunk Thea came over and leaned on his shoulder._

_"How about a dance, handsome?" she asked, liquor on her breath. Tommy hastily put down his drink and stood._  
  
"Great, here I go again," Thea complained tossing her hands up in defeat.

_"Hey, uh, I thought that we agreed that you were going to call me before you did something stupid." He said concerned. Thea scoffed._

_"You're no fun." She said, putting her arms on his shoulder, her fingers locking behind his head and pulling him closer. "I'm going to show you how to have some fun."_  
  
Moira's eyes widened considerably; she had never thought… never considered how far Thea might push her attraction to Tommy. She didn't even need to glance towards Artemis to see the knowing look. To Moira, she could still circumvent this, so Thea didn't need to be told… but Moira could see that Artemis was no longer willing to wait too.

_"Whoa, whoa!" Tommy hurriedly pulled her hands off his head, moving back slightly. "What are you doing?"_

_"You said I was amazing."_

_"Yeah, you are amazing," he agreed, "but you're also like my sister. My baby sister." He emphasized._

_"Well, I'm not a baby anymore." Thea replied drunkenly, a frown on her face. "Thank you for noticing." She looked past Tommy and saw Laurel dancing with Carter Bowen. "Laurel doesn't even like you! She doesn't understand you. I do. Why can't you just see that?"  
_

Sighing, Thea said truthfully, "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't…" She wasn't sure if she was just apologizing for now or for later as well, but she understood that she had to say these words. Watching herself make a fool out of herself, she felt disgusted and embarrassed. She couldn't help but wonder was she always this bad when she was drunk?

"No Thea… you're right," Laurel admitted. "I didn't see him." She gazed towards Tommy and added quickly, "But I think I'm starting too now."

_"Thea." Tommy took a breath, then took her gently and started leading her towards the coat check. "Thea, it was a mistake to talk to you about girls and stuff." He said. "It was inappropriate, and I think it may have confused you."_

_Thea spun out of his grasp to face him. "Yeah, the rejection? It is pretty clear." She slurred. "Even if it wasn't, between my mom and Oliver and everybody in my entire life, I'm pretty much used to it by now, so…" she turned back towards the coat check, and rand head long into a waiter, causing him to drop his tray. The loud sounds of breaking glass and clanging metal drew everyone's attention._

_"Whoa, whoa." Tommy said, gently taking Thea once more. "Ok, let's go, let's go. Come on."_  
  
Thea closed her eyes and prayed for it to be over sooner rather than later.

_A few minutes later, Laurel walked out of the building to the back alley where she'd seen the two head._

_"Tommy?" she called out. He was leaning against his car, his jacket off, watching over Thea as she puked against the wall._

_"Yep." He replied, glancing her way._

_"Is Thea okay?"_

_"Oh, yeah, she just ate some bad crab cakes." Tommy lied smoothly. Laurel didn't buy it for a second._

_"Are you sure it wasn't something she drank?" she asked wryly, her arms crossed. Tommy cleared his throat.  
_  
"More like the amount," Thea outright admitted. Turning towards, Tommy and Laurel, she continued with, "I'm sorry for what I said about Sara. I can't even use being drunk as an excuse."

"Thea its fine," Laurel said first. The words had hurt her, but she could see where they could have been misconstrued from to start. Things were far from okay between them all, but at least now, they could finish the memory without the awkward silences.

_"Don't worry. I got this." He assured her. "You can go back inside, keep having fun. Looked like you were having a nice little do-si-do with the good doctor."_

_"Tommy, I'm going to let you in on a little-known secret about Dr. Carter Bowen." She leaned in close. "The man is a gigantic ass." Tommy smiled. "And the only reason why I danced with him is because he wrote a massive check to CNRI. Why would you think anything else?"_  
  
"Nice," Thea said to Laurel. "Glad to see everyone agrees on one thing."

_"I guess when it comes to you, I tend not to think straight." He replied honestly._

_"Can you call me a cab?" Thea asked weakly, stumbling over to the two lovebirds._

_"Absolutely not." Tommy replied, opening the passenger door of his car. "I am taking you home. Get in."_

_"I apologize for making such a scene." She told Laurel as she climbed into the car._

_"Just feel better, okay?" the older woman replied as Tommy closed the door. As he moved around the car, Laurel called out, "Hey, Tommy."_

_"Yeah?" he asked, walking up to her._

_"I owe you a dance."_

_Tommy smiled. "Yeah?"_

_She kissed him on the cheek. "You earned it." She whispered, then turned and hurried back into the building, though she shot a flirtatious grin over her shoulder as she did so._  
  
Quentin looked ready to complain, but one look from Laurel had him saying, instead, "Nice of you to save my daughter's job."

Leaning over to Laurel, Tommy asked, "Was that a thank you?" 

Stifling a laugh, she nodded and said, "And probably the best one you will get."

_Tommy smiled back, and then climbed into his car._

_"Please don't hate me." Thea asked timidly. Tommy gave her a look full of understanding and compassion._

_"No, no. Never." He assured her as he started the car and drove off._  
  
Thea couldn't help but wonder if they hated her now. She had done a pretty good job screwing the pooch at this point, and the more she tried to forget it, the more the words wouldn't leave her alone. She wanted nothing more than to storm out of this room, but she was reminded of the fact the door wouldn't open for her.

_Back in the lair, Oliver was sitting, mostly in the dark. Diggle walked up to him._

_"What went down wasn't your fault." He assured the younger man._  
  
Moira couldn't believe how her son was blaming himself for this too. She wondered how he held up all that guilt he seemed to carry; something he didn't need to do. She hoped when she returned that he'd let her in to help. She didn't want him to bear this alone.

_"I didn't say it was." Oliver said, not meeting the other man's gaze._

_"Oliver, it wasn't your fault, man." He repeated. "You gave Reston a chance. That was more than he deserved."_

_"I'm not so sure about that."_

_"Well, listen, I'll tell you this much." Dig pressed on. "You say going after the guys on that list is the way you honored your dad? Well, if your dad could have seen you this week, the way you cared about the people he had hurt, the way you stepped up to try to help them, I'd say he'd be pretty damn honored." He looked down at Oliver. "So maybe there is more than one way to save this city?"_  
  
"He'd be proud," Moira echoed happily. "He'd be so very happy." She saw her daughter's smile in response, so she wrapped one arm around her daughter. For the moment, Moira enjoyed the seconds with her daughter; if Artemis told Thea the truth, Moira was sure that this would be one of the last times for this sort of interaction for a while.

_After a few moments, Oliver nodded and looked up at the bodyguard. "Maybe."_

_Dig nodded and moved to leave. He stopped and looked back. "By the way, Stan Washington woke up." He told him. "He's going to be fine."_  
  
"Good," Quentin nodded. "Stan didn't deserve that."

_Oliver nodded, and then retreated back to his thoughts._  
  
**FIVE YEARS AGO**

_The scene flashed back again to the cave. Oliver, who had been sleeping, shot awake, breathing hard. The dream of his father had rattled him. Shaking his head, he noted the dying fire. Oliver picked up the notebook and tore another page out. He reached over, letting the paper hover just over the flames. He was about to drop it in when something caught his eye. He pulled the piece of paper back and saw writing suddenly appear, as if my magic. Curious, he took the book, opened it, and held the open pages high over the flames for a few moments. As he pulled the book back, more writing started to appear. It was a list of names. He gazed at the names, and then came to a realization.  
_  
Malcolm knew that at some point the List had to become whole and revealed, but he didn't like the idea that it showed how to reveal the hidden ink. It was meant to be unseen, and the last thing the Dark Archer needed was for his secret ink to become obsolete.

" _My responsibility." He whispered to himself. "I promise, Dad. I promise."_  
  
 **PRESENT**

_Back in the present, Moira was pouring a drink in Queen Manor. Oliver walked in, dressed in his business suit, and leaned against the doorframe._

_"Nightcap?" he asked quietly._

_"Well, I thought it might help me." She replied. "I-I don't sleep well alone." She sighed and turned to face her son. "I'm sorry about what I said tonight."_

_Oliver shook his head. "No. You were being honest." He said, walking into the room._

_"No, not entirely." She disputed. "The truth is, with Walter being gone, I'm… I'm lonely." She walked up to him. "You know, you and I used to talk. I used to know what you were thinking. But now, even when you're home, you're somewhere else." She sighed, "I- I guess I just miss my son."  
_  
Next to her, Moira felt Thea hug her back tightly. "We get to change this," her youngest murmured. "We get to make this better."

"Yes we do," Moira echoed.

" _I miss you, too." He replied honestly. "And I wish that…" he trailed off; trying to put into words how he felt. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Are you hungry?"_

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger. Oliver and Moira were sitting at a table as a waitress brought them their orders of hamburgers, fries and milk shakes. Moira, ever the proper lady, picked up her knife and fork and started to cut into the burger, but was stopped by Oliver's hand that he gently placed on hers._

_"Mom- It's okay to get your hands dirty every once in a while." He said, smiling. "For me. Please."_

_Moira smiled at him and dropped the utensils. "All right." She said, picking up the burger with her hands and taking a large bite. "Mmm." She moaned in appreciation._

_"Mm-hmm." Oliver echoed, chewing on his own burger._

_"Mmm, yeah." Moira said, indicating her burger. "That is a great burger." She smiled at Oliver. "Thank you for this."_

_"Anytime." Oliver replied._

_"You know," Moira started, a teasing smile on her lips, "I'll bet Carter Bowen doesn't know where to find the best burger joint in Starling City."_

_"So I have one thing on him." Oliver said with a smile._

_"No." she patted him gently on the arm. "You have everything on him."_

Smiling, Moira enjoyed the moment as the memory ended, and she was brought back to present. Glancing over to the couch, she saw Artemis was already on her feet, hand on her ear as she talked to someone in a language she didn't recognize. Moira straightened in her seat as she raked her mind for options in a way to avoid this. A small part of her was tempted to open her mouth and try and have the earlier argument between Tommy, Thea, and Laurel continue; if only to find a way to keep Artemis from telling Thea the truth. 

Finishing, Artemis glanced around, "Alright, you four we need to talk." She waved for them to stand, which Tommy and Thea did hesitantly.

"Where are we going?" Tommy asked.

"Another room. Privacy," she explained.

"Oh," Slade grinned to the archer's exasperation.

Turning on Slade, Artemis smirked, "I'm not leaving you in here alone with the Lances. Called an old friend to help me out for a moment." The door to the viewing room opened and another woman stepped in.

"Thea," the new woman greeted.

"Helena," Artemis said in turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, here you all go. So next chapter will be both an episode and a conversation. For those not rehearsed in DC comic books, Ravager is a name adopted by Slade Wilson's children (yes more than one), and Helena does join the Justice League. For some of these future events, I plan to borrow from said comics to give me a basis for some of the characters.  
> Hope you're all enjoying yourselves. Next chapter, Artemis and Moira square off over the truth; Tommy and Laurel talk, and everyone meets the broken and angry Helena.


	10. Interlude: Truths

**Interlude: Truths**

Standing stoic in the hallway, Artemis waited patiently for both families- Merlyns and Queens- to follow her. She nodded her thanks to Helena; at first, she had thought to ask Roy to watch over Slade during this conversation. However, he had mentioned near the end of the last memory that Helena had volunteered, and over the years, the elder Thea had come to appreciate the friendship that had developed between them.

As Moira trailed behind her daughter from the room, she met Artemis's gaze, begging her silently not to do this. Near Moira, Malcolm continued to observe the interactions, and he couldn't help the theories that began to surge through his head. 

"Keep them behaved," Artemis said to the Huntress. Before the door closed, she added, "Without shooting them, if possible."

Helena held up her crossbow and smirked, "No promises." 

The archer didn't need to be told that Helena had been joking; the once criminal hadn't killed in almost ten years. However, the people in the room didn't need to know that- Artemis mused. Waving the families to follow her, she wandered towards the cafeteria again. It wasn't ideal, but she knew that it was closed off. It would also allow her younger self to storm off without getting too lost, and Artemis was positive about the reaction. The only person's response she wasn't quite sure of would be Tommy's. He had been long dead when her heritage had been discovered, and she wondered if he would react similar to her younger self- betrayed and angry. 

….

Inside the room, Helena took a seat across from Slade and stared the mercenary down. The Huntress had little history with the man, but she remembered vividly the damage his men had down to Starling the second year Oliver had been back. She had still been hurt and confused herself, and she hadn't stopped to consider the damage her own crusade would do. 

"Who are you?" Detective Lance asked the woman. She looked oddly familiar to him, but he couldn't place her face.

"Helena Bertinelli," she responded to Lance's utter shock. "Also known as Huntress or was. I retired a few years back." She didn't have the same speed her youth had granted her, so it had been with a heavy heart she had put the mask aside. Even today, she felt as though she had much to make up for how she had acted those first few years under the mask. Helping Artemis was just another way to try and amend her actions. Oliver had been her first teacher, and while she wasn't sure if this would work, she admitted that it was worth a shot. 

The Bertinelli name was synonymous with crime, so both Laurel and Quentin were unsure how to respond to the daughter of a major mob boss. Unwilling to sit in uncomfortable silence, Laurel asked, "So you're also part of this… Justice League?"

"Was," Helena answered. She remembered the day she had finally got out of prison, and she had been at a crossroads of what to do. The next thing she knew Thea Queen had been standing in front of her, bow in hand. "Retired," she repeated. For the entire conversation, Helena hadn't moved her gaze from Slade. "Where are you at in this memory series?"

Laurel had been ready to ask more questions, interested by the Justice League and how she would eventually come to join them herself. "We just finished with the Royal Flush gang," she explained.

Helena nodded thoughtfully before saying, "Then let me say this now. I am really sorry." She meant it too.

Detective Lance wasn't sure why a mob daughter would be apologizing, but he was distracted in part to try and figure it out. He wanted to know why Artemis had dragged half of the party out of the room. He wondered what could only be told to them and not to the rest. 

….

Right before Artemis stepped into the cafeteria, Moira snatched her left arm and stopped her. She watched as Moira's eyes widened as the feel of something metal beneath her hand and immediately let go. "What?" Artemis growled, not wanting to be asked about her healed injury.

It took her mother a moment to recover, but once she did, she begged, "Don't do this. Thea doesn't need to know."

"Yes she does," the elder Thea growled. "You need to stop lying."

"Malcolm," Moira began, but Artemis simply shook her head.

"Won't hurt her if he knows," she explained. "Believe me, I can vouch for that. Tell them now or I will." Stepping through the doors, Artemis immediately sought out the rest of the party. Malcolm was leaning silently against a nearby table. Thea had found a chair to pout in while Tommy was nowhere in sight. Since Malcolm looked unconcerned, Artemis figured her half-brother was off finding more food. 

"Don't," Moira tried once more before Artemis had joined Malcolm. He eyed the elder Thea with intrigue but said nothing.

Leaning in towards Malcolm, Artemis watched his focus zero in on her. Moira hadn't joined them yet, and the young Thea was looking off in a random direction. Using the distraction to her advantage, Artemis slipped a knife into hand, out of sight of everyone else and pressed it gently but with pressure into Malcolm's back. She watched as his gaze narrowed, but he remained stoic and un-reacting otherwise. 

"A friendly reminder," Artemis whispered. "Do anything to hurt my mom, screw your second chance." With that said, she slipped the knife back out of sight. 

"Tommy stuffing his face again?" she asked loudly, hoping to dissuade any suspicion as to why she was standing so close to Malcolm. The group might have been only a few episodes away from discovering his true identity, but it was just another thing Artemis preferred them to see and not be told. 

"I take offense at that," Tommy said finally reappearing with a plate of food. Artemis simply pointed to his food, and he stopped for a moment before shrugging his agreement.

"Why are we here?" Thea sighed. She found herself uncomfortable in her older version's presence, so the quicker this was done, the faster she could get away. Maybe she'd get the chance to drag Tommy with her, so they could talk. 

Artemis glanced towards Moira, who had finally joined them. "Ask her," the archer said, knowing that her younger self would accept it easier and quicker if their mother was the one who said it. 

For a moment, Artemis was certain Moira would give in and finally lay the secret to rest, but she soon remembered her own mother's stubbornness. She watched as Moira pleaded with her silently.

"Moira, what is this about?" Malcolm asked a tad more forcefully. 

When Mrs. Queen continued to avoid the question, Artemis sighed, "Well Dad, I would say this is a family matter."

….

"Why are you apologizing?" Laurel asked, utterly confused by Helena's admission.

Shrugging, the Huntress leaned back and observed the eldest Lance sister. The Canary and herself weren't on the best of terms, and some of that was in part, the Huntress assumed, was due to her friendship with Thea. Unlike a majority of the League, the Huntress believed Oliver was savable. Most had given up years ago, and the battle a few months prior had practically sealed the deal. Even those that held out until now, like the bat family, had stepped away finally. This plan, Thea's idea, was a last ditch effort.

"Similar to Oliver, my origins," the Huntress began before pausing. "Let's just say, I wasn't very good."

"Vigilantes never are," Quentin muttered. 

"So you're in these memories?" Laurel asked, interested now to learn more about this hero. They had met a few, including her own older self, but most had left quickly without too much conversation. She was curious to learn more about this world.

"Next set actually," the Huntress explained. 

"Why are you here?" Detective Lance growled, breaking off the conversation his daughter was having. He didn't want her to have any more vigilante influences in her life; it was hard enough for him to come to terms with the fact his daughter would eventually put a mask on herself. However, that didn't mean he had to let it happen sooner. 

Huntress pointed towards Slade, who grinned knowingly. "Deterrent." The only downside, in the Huntress's mind, was the fact she was relatively certain she couldn't take Slade in a one on one fight. Perhaps in this time if he had been still alive with no mirakuru, she would have a chance, but not when she was out of her prime. She was convinced Slade knew this, and the only reason he had behaved thus far was to sate his own curiosity. 

…..

There was a shockingly long moment of silence before Thea choked out a pathetic what. Moira looked torn between wanting to kill Artemis and kill herself. Tommy sputtered as he tried to reconcile the idea that he had a sister, and Malcolm stood calm as Artemis expected. 

"You had no right," Moira finally snapped turning on Artemis.

"I had every right," she hissed. "This comes up eventually in the memories. Better this than to blindside her as I was!" 

"You told me she wasn't mine," Malcolm growled out, dangerously, voice barely above audible. "You lied to me."

"Lies is what our family does best," Artemis pointed out. She kept herself positioned for the moment between her mother and her father. She could see the barely concealed rage under his facade, and it was only when Tommy spoke that his attention was diverted from her mother. 

"No, I mean…" Tommy started before he turned on his father. "When?"

Artemis pushed past her half-brother to come to kneel in front of her younger self. Behind her, she heard Malcolm calmly explain his moment of weakness. "Thea," Artemis whispered. She would have found this situation very jolting, but truthfully in the Justice League, she had seen and been through much stranger situations then having a conversation with a younger version of herself. "I need you to listen to me." She watched as Thea's eyes finally met hers. "Dad, our and Ollie's, loved us very much. He knew…"

"That's not possible," Moira gasped taking a step back. 

"It was," Artemis explained. "He knew and he didn't care. You were still his daughter."

"But…" Thea whispered before saying louder, "But I wasn't." She stumbled to her feet and stepped away from her older self. "Why? Why tell me this?"

"Because… because you needed to know," Artemis explained as gently as she could. She shot a glance over her shoulder to see Tommy practically in Malcolm's face. "As I said, this comes up in the memories, and better to hear it now." 

"Why didn't you?" Thea growled spinning on Moira. "You were trying to avoid telling me."

"To protect you," Moira said frowning. "I wanted to protect you. Robert loved you. There was no need for you to think otherwise."

"No you were protecting yourself!" Thea practically shouted. "You betrayed Dad… well guess, he really isn't my Dad though." She crossed her arms in front of her and shook her head in disgust and pain.

"Please, just give me a…" Moira pleaded.

"No," Thea whispered, "You don't get to say anything to me." She backed up and took off down the hall. 

When Moira went to follow, Artemis gently grasped her arm to prevent her. "Give her time. I know I needed some when I was told." To her shock, Moira violently pulled away and spun on her. She watched as her mother glare disapprovingly at her, and inside, she felt another small piece of herself die. 

"I told you to let this go. You shouldn't have told her."

"I'm her, and I know I wanted to know," Artemis tried to explain. 

"You're not her," Moira replied, and it felt like a slap to Artemis's face. "That's why we're here aren't we? To change things so she doesn't end up like you." Shaking her head, Moira said tersely, "You didn't have to tell her. When you have a child of your own, you'll understand the need for secrets."

More than anything, Artemis wanted this out now, and not later… not when only a short time after finding out Moira would die in the memories. However, that was hard to explain, and she found herself at a loss for words. She had been warned prior by Flash that in order to process what was going on the people they brought from the past would see their future selves as completely different people; however, it still hurt nonetheless. 

Artemis didn't stop Moira from pulling away this time. However before her mother was out of earshot, Artemis said, "I do understand. You'll do anything and everything to protect her, because she's your daughter… but you can't protect her from this." She wasn't sure if her words made any sort of impact as Moira didn't stop. 

"You bastard," Tommy snarled, shoving past his father to follow after his newly discovered sister. Soon after, Moira was following Tommy silently leaving Artemis and Malcolm alone for a minute. 

"That could have gone better," Artemis sighed as she turned on her father. She saw the pain in his eyes for a brief moment before he replaced his mask perfectly. "Thank you for not killing anyone." She paused before adding, "Al Saer." She watched as his eyes snapped to meet her gaze, and if there was shock, it was quickly covered by a smirk. 

Slowly, Artemis set her bow on the table along with her quiver just in time to block Malcolm's first punch. They traded blows, but it wasn't a serious attack on either of their parts. She could see him assessing her fighting technique- trying to determine its origin. 

Ducking under the kick, Artemis surged forward knocking Malcolm back into a table which he easily vaulted back over. Before she could back away, he had seized her arm and pulled her down hard. However, she spun out of the grip and took a step back. They paused to Artemis's disappointment. She hadn't had a chance ever to wipe the floor with him, and she had been hoping to change that. 

"I take it that it wasn't your brother that trained you?" Malcolm asked, straightening his suit. He recognized League of Assassin technique easily; he just couldn't be sure if it was him or the actual League that had passed on that training. He waited for her to answer, but he wasn't surprised when she didn't. "And your arm?" he said indicating her left arm.

Rolling up her sleeve, Artemis revealed a metal brace, one fit perfectly to her arm elbow to fingers. "A fight a few months back," she said, hiding the shudder. It was only because of the brace that she could draw her bow. Picking up said bow, Artemis addressed him seriously, "Make no mistake though, I can and will hurt you. Medicine is great nowadays. Something fatal in your time will not be as fatal here."

"You didn't tell me you were my daughter because you were looking for a family relationship," Malcolm summarized.

"No I didn't," Artemis said. "You were going to use my younger self to control and manipulate Ollie."

"And now I won't?" he asked.

"No," she said confidently, and Malcolm couldn't exactly argue. "And this way when Slade snaps, which he will, you'll be more inclined to help."

"I'd reveal a lot if I did that."

Artemis chuckled, "I wouldn't worry too much about that in say… three hours?"

….

Back in the room, Thea had found a chair as far as possible from everyone, but it had, sadly, put her closer to Slade. Tommy had trailed in a few seconds later, and part of him wanted to talk to Thea immediately but another part begged him to talk to Laurel. She must have noticed the look on his face as she was on her feet quickly and meeting him in the doorframe.

"That went as well as I thought it would," Helena muttered knowing what Artemis had planned to tell the family. Helena had suggested originally that they just remove those portions of the memory and allow the secret to actually die, but she had listened to Artemis's explanation that this, her father, was her crucible… and everyone needed one to grow stronger. 

"What just happened?" Laurel asked, her eyes trailing to the obviously distraught Thea. "What'd she say?"

Tommy sighed and tried to find a way to explain how one sentence had just completely overturned his life. Somehow the only words he could get out were, "She's my sister. Like literally." He scoffed, "My dad scolds me for sleeping around and being irresponsible, but he was the one who slept with Mrs. Queen only a few days after my mother died."

"Oh Tommy," Laurel said quietly, reaching forward to grasp his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Thea that?" he whispered. "I think she's taking it worse since it was her older self that dropped that one on us." It was hard to believe to him that only a few hours ago they all had been in the past, and now, they were in the future, and he had a sister. 

"Not going to lie, but this day has just been strange," Laurel said which got Tommy to chuckle and nod. "Come on, let's go sit with your sister." She held out her hand, he took it, and followed her to where Thea had taken refuge.

"I'm not in a family bonding mood," she grumbled into her arm, attempting to hide her face. She groaned as Tommy and Laurel plopped down on either side of her. She glanced up at them in time to see her mother walk in the door, and she didn't hide the look of contempt. Thankfully, her mother didn't even try to approach; instead, she took a seat near detective Lance to his shock.

"Well you're stuck with us," Laurel said cheerfully wrapping an arm around the younger girl.

"And you're literally stuck with me now," Tommy said. His voice wavered a bit before he collected himself and added, "I get to be the disapproving older brother now… which means you get to be the annoying little sister to me as well." He watched as her shoulders shook with a silent laugh.

Artemis arrived with Malcolm in tow, and he was grateful to see while his son looked angry, his newfound daughter was more upset with her mother. It'd give him a chance to speak with her at some point as he wasn't about to squander this opportunity away. Before he could move to sit back down, he felt the elder version of his daughter grip his arm. "Remember my threat," she whispered, and he found himself filled with a sense of pride when he found himself believing her words. 

Around the room, Artemis could see the tension practically brewing in the air. As much as she wanted to get this done as soon as possible, she could see that perhaps this wasn't the best time to continue pushing things onto the group. "How about we call it a night there?"

Everyone's heads snapped up. "We just started," Laurel argued.

"We've been at this for over six hours," Artemis explained. "I think giving you the night to digest this would be good. We'll pick it up in the morning… which means no sleeping in," she said to her younger self and Tommy. "Helena?" she asked.

The Huntress sighed and nodded joining Artemis as the door. "If you'd follow us." 

Rooms were already set up, and while Artemis lead the silent group, Helena trailed behind them. This time after going through the cafeteria, Artemis led them to a different hallway lined with doors, one for each person. There had been some talk about grouping the families together, but Artemis figured that wouldn't work very well after the revelations.

"Are we to assume you're going to lock us in?" Moira asked.

"For safety reasons," Helena offered with a smirk. 

Once everyone was locked in, and Artemis had been glared at enough times, she turned towards Helena and asked, "Are you staying?"

"Wouldn't miss this," the Huntress responded. She was curious to see how long the peace lasted and couldn't help but want to be nearby for when things did erupt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I lied, no episode in this chapter. I decided it worked better to have this alone then start up Muse of Fire. Helena will be staying for that arc.  
> So after watching "The Offer", I will say again this story will be cannon up until that point. The episode played out like I thought it would, so I'm happy that I won't have to rethink anything, but anything after the Offer (like character deaths) will be ignored.


	11. Muse of Fire

**Muse of Fire**

Roy stepped into the hallway, his hood cast back, and gaze locked solely on Artemis. She hated when he looked at her like she was close to breaking. All these years later, he still tried to protect her even though time and time again, she had proved herself. 

Unable to calm her nerves, Artemis pushed passed both Helena and Roy with the intention of finding the nearest transporter down to earth. Right now, she needed a distraction, and she figured there was someone somewhere committing a crime.

"Thea," Roy said, snatching her arm, and with two practiced moves, she had him shoved against the wall, her arm against his chest.

"Not now," she whispered pulling away, embarrassed by her own actions. "Just…" Collecting herself, she asked, "Can you go down tonight and watch Ria? God knows what she'll do with free range of the house again." Artemis tried not to shudder considering how many hours she had put into the last cleaning until Flash had run over to help with the aftermath. "I'm supposed to be on monitor duty anyway." Which was partially a lie, Artemis would admit; she had originally been scheduled for tonight. However since the fight that had almost cost her her life, she had been on bed rest. Now though, she needed to do something to take her mind off what she was doing, and sleep was the last thing that would let her do that. These memories were bringing back nightmares she had spent years training herself to be numb against.

Roy frowned but nodded. He had expected the distance; after all, he wasn't sure how he would have responded to seeing his own dead mother suddenly alive, unknowing. Leaning in, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and moved away towards the transport room. 

Alone at last, Thea trudged to her room, hoping that the next day would prove to be better than today had been.

….

Earth-side, Joe stepped off the plane, bag slung over his shoulder. He wondered briefly how long it would take for Nightwing to realize he was here, and more so, Joe was curious to see how long it would take Ta-er to reach him. The last contact he had with the League over the night had been a simple message that the other assassin had been reached, and she would be joining him shortly. 

Joe still did not understand his master's plan, but then again, he did not question it either. Once he had received his orders, he had gotten the first flight out to Bludhaven, and now twelve hours later, he had arrived, exhausted but in place. 

Before Tae-er reached him, he needed to garner the Justice League's attention and confuse them. He had a few contacts, and as such, a few ideas as to how to do just that. The keys to a certain asylum in the right hands would do wonders…

….

The following morning, the viewing group had been lead grudgingly to breakfast by the one in red, the one called Flash. He joked the entire time, trying to bring the depressed group back into spirits, but no one was ready to speak. 

Moira found herself to be on the outskirts of the group this time, and any time, she attempted to initiate conversation with the young version of her daughter, Thea would scoff and walk faster. Even Malcolm looked even more deadly with how he glared at her, and Moira tried not to shudder with the fear of what his enforcer would do to her. 

The only thing that was making the morning tolerable to the eldest Queen was the fact Artemis was not in their presence. She hadn't been seen since the previous night, and for that, she was thankful.

Unbeknownst to any of them, there had been an outbreak at a certain mental institution during the night, and Artemis had offered herself to help. While she was not cleared for active duty, she had made a case that she needed a distraction from the nightmares that had chased her during that night. Plus, next to the Gotham vigilante's, she had the next best experience in handling half of its occupants. 

"Once you've grabbed food," Flash explained, "I'll be taking you back to the viewing room, so you can continue."

"And Artemis?" Tommy asked begrudgingly. He hung close to Thea and Laurel. Thea still did not look thrilled with the previous day's revelations, but she was content to be close to her brother… And Laurel was just glad that she wouldn't have the younger girl's wrath anymore as she watched her version in the memories fall for Tommy. 

"She will not be joining us today," Flash stated, the smile barely falling from his face.

"Is she…" Thea asked, worried about her older self. She wasn't sure how she felt about Artemis, but it was her, so to speak. 

"She's fine," Flash added quickly. "Small issue, earth-side." He ran around a second later before re-appearing with four platefuls of food. "Ready?"

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Tommy asked. 

Flash blinked in confusion before frowning. "Yeah… of course." 

Once everyone had grabbed something to eat, they had been ushered back to the viewing room much too a few people's disappointment. Malcolm had hoped to talk to Moira privately before the videos began again; however, it didn't look as though he was going to get the opportunity.

Upon opening the door, they discovered the Huntress waiting for them. With a grin, she stood, crossbow in hand. "I'll be your babysitter today." 

Slade felt nothing for this new female. He had eyed her yesterday and had decided she was little to no threat to him. With the elder Thea, he could see the hardened gaze and stance, and a fight against her was win-able but time consuming. As such, this would be the preferential time to attack, but still, he waited. From what he had been allowed to see on this Watchtower, there was a substantial amount of back-up. He had to disable the locking mechanism on the door first… then he could attack. Eyeing the elder Merlyn, Slade accounted for whatever this other predator had in store.

Thankfully, Flash had the foresight to bring in a few more chairs thus allowing Moira and Malcolm to sit on opposite sides of the room. Thea, Laurel, and Tommy still grouped together, while Slade sat in his usual seat with Helena a few feet behind him. She had been warned to expect anything from him, and while she had not been in Starling during his attack, she knew just as well as everyone else not to underestimate this man. 

_The scene opened up with Oliver driving his Ducati downtown. He pulls to a stop in front of Q.C. and pulls off his helmet, answering his phone at the same time._

_"Hello?"_

_"Hi." Thea said over the line. "Mom said I'm supposed to remind you to pick her up for lunch."_

_"Was I supposed to have lunch with her today?" Oliver joked._

_"She said she left you like 5 messages." Thea sighed, lounging on a couch at home. "Just bite the bullet and have a Cobb salad with the woman."_

"Don't expect me to call him now," Thea grumbled. She wanted as far from the woman as possible, and she'd help her brother in whatever way he needed. In her periphery, she could see that her mother had overheard her, but she didn't care. After discovering she was not Robert's daughter, and that her mother had known, she couldn't find a reason to care if she hurt Moira's feelings.

Next to her, Laurel frowned and shot Tommy a look. She wasn't sure if the group could survive another day of tension and passive aggressiveness. Briefly, she wondered if that was perhaps the reason Artemis was down on earth. Giving the group some room so to speak. 

Detective Lance glanced around the room in confusion; he wasn't entirely sure what had transpired the previous night… his daughter had only brushed him off when he asked, but based on how the Merlyn's and Queen's were acting, a pretty sound theory was forming in his mind. 

_"You know, Thea, sometimes it's difficult to remember which one of you is my mother." He tapped off the Bluetooth headset and looked at the front doors, where his mother and another man were exiting._

_"Mrs. Queen, all I'm asking for is a chance to sit down and discuss our proposal." The man begged, talking and walking to try and keep up with the woman._

_"If that's all it is, then I can save us both the time." She replied, finally stopping to look at the man. "It's rejected."_

"Who's that?" Tommy asked glancing towards Laurel; however, it was Detective Lance that answered.

"Part of the Bertinelli crime family…" he explained, his gaze trailing towards the Huntress. A smile adorned her face, but her gaze held nothing except sadness. 

"We've tried to take them to court for years," Laurel sighed sadly. "But…" Shrugging, she tried not to dwell on her failures on each civil suit. Between the criminal proceedings and private court, no one had made a dent in the mob family… she couldn't help her curiosity to see what Oliver would do.

"Is Frank Bertinelli on your precious List?" Detective Lance asked with a sneer. 

Malcolm didn't respond; part of it was due to the fact he wouldn't grace that question with an answer and a larger part was due to his distraction. Since waking, Thea had yet to even look at him, and he wanted nothing more than to talk to his other child. Between Moira and Tommy's glare though, he hadn't found a way to pull Thea aside.  
 _  
"I see. May I ask why?"_

_Moira gave the man a look. "Do I really need to answer that, Mr. Copani?" she saw Oliver on his bike across the street. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting my son for lunch."_

_Oliver waved at his mother to let her know that he had seen her, but suddenly the sound of another motorcycle caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder to see a rider, dressed all in black and riding a Harley Davidson jump the curb. The rider pulled out a gun and aimed it at Moira and Copani._  
  
Moira's eyes widened, and she stifled her gasp. Nearby, Thea couldn't help but shoot her mother a concerned glance. However, it was short lived when she reminded herself that the woman had lied to her every day for the entirety of her life. 

Glancing between the groups, Slade tried not to smirk. The discord would make things easier for him. He had wanted to wait until Oliver returned to destroy his family, but upon seeing how his family would ground him in the coming months, Slade could see he needed to adjust his plans. Perhaps, he'd end one of the Queen's but leave the other alive to tell the tale to Oliver upon his return. 

_"Get down!" he shouted, jumping off his bike. Too late, the other rider opened fire, hitting Copani several times in the chest. As he fell back, he crashed into Moira, and both tumbled to the ground hard. The biker took off just as Oliver crossed the street. Ignoring the rider, he went to his mom._

_"Mom? Are you okay?" he asked her, looking her over for any wounds._

_"I'm all right." She gasped out._

_"Are you hurt?"_

_"No, I'm-I'm-" She saw Mr. Copani lying dead next to her, and quickly turned away._  
  
"I see your family still has enemies Helena," Lance quipped, but the Huntress didn't respond to jibe. She knew what was coming, and she wondered if any of them would remember her apology from the night before. 

_"Are you sure?" Oliver asked again._

_"I'm fine." She assured him._

_"You're sure you're fine?" at her nod, he stood and yelled at an oncoming security guard. "Call 9-1-1!" With that order, he took off through the plaza, running after the biker.  
_  
Unable to help herself, Thea gasped, "And he left her on the sidewalk, maybe dying?!" Scowling, she didn't glance to see her mother's hopeful glance, but she didn't try to correct her angry statement either. 

"Your brother has many skills," Slade said, politely enough. This charade had to be held. "He's more than capable of catching the shooter."

"But they're on a bike," Tommy scoffed, unbelieving that his friend could be that fast… then again, he glanced towards the door; his mind wandering back to the speedster that had chaperoned them this morning.

_He ran parallel to the bike, dodging cars as he crossed the street. He saw the bike turn on to a side road, and ran down an alley. As he ran, he grabbed a piece of rebar in a dumpster and, timing it perfectly, threw the rebar like a spear, damaging the bike's rear tire as it went past. Before he could pursue, though, a large semi's horn blared and he stopped millimeters from being hit as the semi sped past. By the time the truck cleared and Olive could get a clear look, the bike was gone.  
_  
"I take it back," Tommy snorted much to Thea's amusement. She wasn't thrilled by Oliver's actions still, but her… brother's comment did lighten the situation.

_The scene changed to Starling General Hospital. Moira was in a private room getting checked over by her doctor when Thea led Oliver into the room. "Hi." he said to the doctor, moving next to his mother's bed. "Are you okay?" he asked._  
  
"I'm glad that you're okay Moira," Malcolm had said truthfully much to her surprise. He was by no means happy by the lies, but he had no plans to kill another of his friends. Plus, he didn't think Thea would take it well, even if she was angry with her.

_"I'm fine." At his look, she repeated "I'm fine." Moira looked to Thea. "Did you reach Walter?"_

_"No." the girl replied quietly, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm sorry."_  
  
Moira frowned and tried not to dwell on the loss of another husband. There had to be a way, in her mind, to prevent this from ever happening. She couldn't obviously tell Walter the truth, but there had to be a way to dissuade his searching once she returned.

_"As I was telling your mother and sister, the CAT-Scan showed a grade two concussion." The doctor explained. "She can go home so long as someone stays with her just to make sure there are no after effects."_

_"Thank you." Oliver said. After the doctor left, he looked sheepishly down at Moira. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you." He said. "I thought you were fine."_  
  
"At least he realizes his mistake," Laurel said encouragingly while patting Thea's leg. 

Thea glanced at Laurel with a snort. She wasn't trying to be mean, but she remembered each of her brother's mistakes… clearly from before the Island. Each of those, he realized and understood completely too… but he had never done anything to change it either. 

_"What did you think you were doing anyway?" she asked. Oliver took a breath._

_"Yeah, I wanted to get the license plate of the guy who took a shot at you." He lied. Moira gave him a look._

_"Well, that was foolish." She said._

_"Yeah." Oliver agreed, then leaned down and hugged her._  
  
"Again with doing the cops job," Quentin muttered, but his tone betrayed his amusement at the thought of Oliver running down anything for simply a license plate.

_A short time later, Oliver left Moira's room. Thea followed closely behind, once again leaning against the doorframe._

_"So did you get the license plate?" she asked coldly._

_"No." Oliver said. "He got away."_

_"Maybe you should spend a little less time trying to be a hero. You're obviously not very good at it." She spat._  
  
Groaning, Thea asked, "Is there ever a time when I'm not so…"

"Bitchy?" Helena asked with a grin. She watched as the younger Thea glared at her much to her chagrin. "You've met your future self," she continued with instead of continuing to tease the younger girl.

"Yes, sadly," Thea grumbled. "And she's worse."

_Oliver forced a grin. "That's cute."_

_"I wasn't trying to be." She replied instantly. She stared at him with cold, angry eyes. "You left her on the street, alone and hurt. In the street." She repeated, and then scoffed. "To get a license plate?"_

_A chill went down Oliver's spine, and he stepped forward, adopting an innocent, hurt look. "You don't believe me?" he asked._  
  
"How could I?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Laurel said encouragingly. "I don't think any of us would have believed that."

Tommy followed up with, "Yeah that might be his weakest excuse yet." All of Oliver's cover stories thus far had been sound, save for what he had said to Mr. Diggle and this one.

_"I love you." She affirmed. "Mom loves you. But it's getting hard when you won't be truthful with us." With that, she turned and went back into the room, closing the door in his face._

_Oliver closed his eyes, burying the hurt deep down, before turning to leave. As he walked down the hall, Detective Lance and Hilton appeared._

_"Detectives." He greeted. "Do you have any leads on the shooter?"_

_"Not yet." Hilton said. "Did you get a good look at him?" he asked. Oliver shook his head._

_"No. He was wearing a helmet."_  
  
Malcolm was curious to see how this would play out, exceptionally so. Frank Bertinelli was scum, but a necessity. There was no easy way for the Dark Archer to remove the mob boss without starting a gang war, and with the Undertaking so close to fruition, he couldn't risk the fallout. After the Glades were gone though, he had planned to make a visit; however if they were watching this, Malcolm assumed the Vigilante was about to take him head on. 

_"Don't worry. We'll find him." Hilton promised._

_"My head of security is on his way." Oliver continued. "I want to make sure there are men outside my mother's door. She needs to be protected."_

_"Well, you know your family's at the tippy-toppy of my list of priorities," Lance said sarcastically, "but the guy that she was with was connected, mobbed up to the eyeballs connected. She wasn't the target." Oliver looked at the man, and then walked past the cops down the hall. "And you're welcome." Lance finished needlessly.\_  
  
"Dad," Laurel scoffed. "His mother was just shot at. Target or not, she could have been killed."

Lance appropriately looked embarrassed and mumbled his apologies to Mrs. Queen. She didn't comment on the situation, but nodded her thanks. She understood his reaction.

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where she was busy working on her laptop. A knock at the door caught her attention, and she rose to get it. Upon opening the door, she found Tommy holding a bag of take out, standing next to a delivery boy holding a pizza box._

_"Technically I did get here like 10 seconds before this guy." Tommy joked._  
  
"I can't believe I hit on my own brother," Thea groaned, while suppressing the urge to shudder. Her words had been meant for only Laurel and Tommy but Quentin had heard enough too.

"Seriously?" the Detective growled, hating to see his assumption confirmed. "Don't you have better things to do?" He turned on Moira, whose icy glare met him head on.

Slade sat back, amused and wondering how he could use this to his advantage now. Helena seeing this was about to turn loud, had the memory stop playing. She scowled as while she had agreed to being the babysitter, Artemis had assured her it was an easy job. The archer hadn't mentioned how gripey everyone could be. 

"It was a one-time affair," Moira said, not really seeing the need to defend her actions. "Robert was still your father, Thea."

Thea didn't respond, only stared at the screen. She willed it to start again, but when she felt eyes boring into her, she looked up to meet Malcolm's gaze. She wasn't sure how she felt knowing she had a father again, and she didn't want anyone to replace her Dad… as such, she had done her best to avoid Mr. Merlyn thus far. However, she could see that was drawing to a close. 

"Can we continue?" Helena snapped. Everyone turned toward the Huntress to see her lounging back but crossbow sitting comfortably on the arm of the chair. 

"What's with all the bows?" the Detective asked.

"Trend," Helena answered simply unwilling to divulge what Oliver had taught her prior to the memory doing such. 

_Laurel smiled, then handed the delivery boy a wad of cash. "Keep the change." She said, taking the box from him. The boy left, and Tommy walked in after Laurel. "So, Tommy, what brings you by so late?" she asked._

_"Well, I assumed, rightly, that you would be at home working tonight," he started, "And I also assumed that you might be hungry." He noted the box. "Also rightly."_

_"I don't know." Laurel held up the box. "This is a mushroom and olive pizza from Mario's."_  
  
"Oh that does sound good," Laurel commented, imagining the pizza in front of her. She didn't care that it was still practically breakfast, and she had already eaten. 

_Tommy made a show of wincing. "That is damn good pie."_

_Laurel put the box down on the table. "All right, what do you have to offer?"_

_Tommy held up the brown bag. "Spicy tuna on crispy rice from Toro's."_

_Laurel's eyes narrowed. "Ohh. Damn you, Merlyn." She grabbed the bag. She headed to get some plates, then turned and looked at Tommy. "I hope Sushi was all you had in mind."_  
  
Tommy frowned playfully and avoided his father's gaze while he looked to Laurel. "My mind isn't always in the gutter."

"Tommy," Laurel said truthfully, "you practically live in it." She patted his hand gently and smiled as she did so.

_"Uh, actually, there was something that I wanted to ask you." He started nervously._

_"And what's that?"_

_"Will you go out with me?" he asked. "Like on a date."_  
  
"This will be really awkward if you reject him on screen," Thea said to her own amusement. 

_Laurel raised an eyebrow. "You brought me dinner to ask me to dinner?"_

_"Well, I also did throw you a really big charity gala."_

_"See, I thought you threw it for the hundreds of people it would benefit."_

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hundreds of people. Plus one more." He joked._

_"Tommy…" she laughed._

_"Laurel, I get it." He moved in front of her. "Okay, this is all happening for us in the wrong order. You know, first we're friends for many years, and then briefly we are friends with benefits, extremely excellent benefits." Laurel blushed.  
_  
Quentin growled warningly, "I have a gun."

"And a conscience," Helena said, effectively deflating the threat. She tried not to focus on how many times she had used someone's good nature against them… which reminded her of the time she threatened one Thomas Merlyn, and she couldn't help but glance towards the Dark Archer. She reminded herself not to be in said room when that specific event occurred. 

_"And now I am just hoping that we can be two people sitting at the same restaurant at the same table at the same time." He smiled. "See, when I say it like that, it doesn't sound so scary, does it?"_  
  
"Oh we don't get to see if you get rejected or not," Thea teased Tommy lightly. Somethings were second nature, and that included mocking older brothers. She couldn't believe how things had turned out thus far: she had discovered her oldest brother was alive and she would be leaving this time with another. As much as she was still angry over the situation, she was grateful her older self had divulged this information. 

_The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver was taking out his frustrations on a training dummy._

_"Oliver, your mom was nearly killed." Diggle said, coming into the lair. "I think you can take a day off from training."_  
  
Both Malcolm and Slade nodded encouragingly at not what Diggle said but what Oliver was doing. There was no such thing as taking time off from training. Both men could respect Oliver's actions this situation. 

_"My mother wasn't the target." Oliver gasped, moving away from the dummy and dropping to his chair at the desk. "This man was." He indicated a picture on the screen. "Paul Copani. He was trying to close a deal with her when they were shot at. Copani works for Bertinelli Construction and Frank Bertinelli."_

_"The mob boss?" Dig asked._  
  
A few eyes glanced curiously towards Helena, but her gaze was focused solely on the memory. 

_"I did some digging." Oliver said. "Copani isn't the first member of Bertinelli's crew who's been hit."_

_"You did some digging?" Dig asked, unbelieving._

_"Bertinelli has a lot of enemies. The best way to figure out who's trying to target his organization is to get inside of it." Oliver sat back in his chair as Dig continued to stare at him in disbelief._  
  
Laurel tried not to groan at Oliver's words. She couldn't imagine what a nightmare he would be to represent if Oliver was ever taken to court for half of the charges he could theoretically be charged.

_"So let me get this right, Oliver." He began. "Your mother's shot at, nearly killed, and the way you process this emotionally is by going undercover with the mob."_

_"I'm not trying to process anything emotionally." Oliver denied._  
  
Snorting, Thea rolled her eyes. "Our mother just got shot at, and he's acting like it was nothing." Not that she cared or anything… She figured her mother deserved a bit of the cold shoulder, but that didn't mean she wanted to see her mother die on screen either. When she glanced towards Moira, she saw her mother smiling at her which she promptly did not return. 

"Necessity Ms. Queen," Slade commented with a smirk. He watched as Helena glared in his direction, and he wondered what he had done to cause the animosity with her. "In a fight, emotions are a dangerous thing." 

"He's not in a fight," Thea argued.

"Yeah but based on these memories… he's looking for one," Tommy said with a frown. It was just another crime Oliver would commit, and while Tommy was growing use to what he was seeing after so many hours, it was still a bit of a whiplash to remind himself of that fact early morning. 

_"Yeah, well, maybe that's your problem, man." Dig retorted. "You ever thought about just being there for your family?"_

_"I tried that today with Thea." He started, his frustration finally showing. "She told me I wasn't being honest with her, and she's right. I can't very well explain to her that I left our mother alone and bleeding on the pavement because I'm fast enough to almost run down the attacker."  
_  
"If he had told me," Thea muttered to herself. Then again, she couldn't have been sure how she would have reacted to her brother's secret prior to seeing this. 

_He turned back to the computer. "But what I can do is protect my family. And, Diggle, when I found out who this guy is, he's a dead man."  
_  
Detective Lance sighed audibly and shook his head. "If he'd let the cops handle it..."

"Yes Detective because they've done a fine job thus far," Malcolm sneered, unable to help himself as he thought back on the little to no police work done to find his wife's killer.

"We could arrest the guy, but instead Queen's going to give us another body," he responded undeterred by Malcolm's words.

_The scene changed to a garage across town. The rider rode the damaged Harley in, the rolling door closing behind her. She got off the bike and went up to a corkboard filled with pictures and, taking a sharpie, put an X through Copani's. The woman pulled off her helmet to reveal the face of Helena Bertinelli, and she stared at the picture of her father, loathing in her eyes._  
  
Everyone turned in shock to stare at Helena. Even Malcolm and Slade hadn't entirely seen that coming. With a smile, Helena met each of their looks, but otherwise, she shrugged it off. She didn't need to explain herself, in her own mind, and she figured that these memories would reveal enough.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor the next night. Thea was dressed to kill, walking down the stair when…_

_"Speedy!"_

_She looked over to see Oliver, dressed in a business suit, walking down the opposite stairs. "Where you going?" he asked._

_"Clubbing." She replied. "Which is difficult to do when you're in a house and not in an actual club."_  
  
"Yeah, not anymore," Tommy quipped in amusement. 

"Shut it," Thea mumbled, but her tone revealed her amusement. She wasn't thrilled that Oliver would ditch her to babysit, but on the other hand, a much larger part, she was glad to see her brother was going to hunt down… Helena… for shooting at their mother. Glancing towards the Huntress again, she couldn't imagine how she would ever be friends with that psycho. 

_Oliver had the decency to look somewhat abashed. "I have to go out tonight. I thought you'd be watching mom."_

_Thea stared at her brother. "I spent the whole day with her. I thought you were taking the night shift."_

_"I'm sorry, but this thing, it's important."_

_Thea crossed her arms and shook her head in annoyance. "You know, sometimes, Ollie, I just don't get you. And by sometimes, I mean ever."_  
  
"Not that you should be going out to the club anyway," Moira scolded, having not forgotten all the laws her daughter had broken as well. Thea didn't even respond or look her way, and while Moira wanted nothing more than to continue to berate her daughter about choices, she held her tongue for the moment. For some reason, she didn't feel comfortable having a family discussion in front of Slade or the woman who had apparently just almost shot her.

_"You're actually not the first person to say that to me today." He said with an apologetic smile. Thea didn't return it._

_"Why am I not surprised?" She said as Tommy walked in the door._

_"Oh, nice dress." He complimented her. "Where you headed?"_

_"Upstairs. Apparently." She ground out as she turned and walked back upstairs._

_Tommy looked to Oliver._

_"Long story." Oliver whispered, heading into the sitting room to get his car keys._

_"Hey, I heard about your mom." Tommy started. "Is she all right?"_

_"She's resting upstairs. More shaken up than anything." He smiled tightly at his friend. "I got to run to this business thing, but I do appreciate you stopping by."_

_"It's no problem." Tommy assured him. "Just so long as your mom's all right."_  
  
Shaking his head, Tommy sighed, "Why do I even visit?"

"It is called a phone," Laurel teased.

_"Yeah." Oliver nodded, walking past him._

_"Hey, one more thing." Tommy said, stopping Oliver in his tracks. "Mainly because I don't want you to find this out from someone else, that someone else especially being Laurel." He paused for a moment, gathering his courage. "We're going to dinner. As in a date." He clarified._

_"That's good." Oliver finally said, a smile plastered on his face. "Laurel deserves someone special, and so do you."_  
  
A small part of Laurel was disappointed that Oliver hadn't had a reaction to her date with Tommy, but a larger part was thrilled to know that her ex did not have any control of her life. She could date whoever she wanted, and while at this moment she wasn't sure if that was Tommy, she enjoyed knowing she'd have that chance in the future. He was a good guy, and he was right that they got along throughout the years.

_Tommy smiled. "Thanks, man."_

_"I gotta run to this thing." Oliver said, heading out to his car._

_"All right. Absolutely. I'll catch you later." Tommy said._

_Oliver paused and turned back to his friend. "Oh, and, Tommy, if you hurt her, I'll snap your neck." He said deadpan. Then he smiled. "I'm just kidding." Tommy let out a laugh of his own as Oliver left._  
  
Tommy's eyes widened a fraction. "Why… why do I get the feeling he wasn't joking?" he gulped, very seriously worried for a moment.

"He'd never hurt you," Helena finally said breaking her long silence. "You're his friend." She knew she should have spoken in past tense, but Artemis had been strict on about what she could and could not reveal. As such, that meant she had to watch her words carefully.

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli residence. Oliver rang the doorbell, and moments later a man opened the door. Oliver smiled._

_"Mr. Bertinelli." He said with a smile, extending his hand._

_"Call me Frank." He replied, shaking Oliver's hand and leading him into the house._

_"Call me Oliver." He countered with a smile._  
  
"Oh Oliver," Moira whispered, terrified to see her son conversing with the well-known mob boss. 

Malcolm curiously leaned back. He doubted that Oliver would start a war without his hood, but the Dark Archer wanted to see how much useful information that the other archer would be able to gleam from an impromptu meeting. 

_"Thank you for agreeing to meet me at my home." Frank started._

_"My father used to say that living rooms make the best conference rooms."_

_"Oh, I'm gonna steal that." Frank said with a small laugh. He indicated a tall gentleman standing nearby. "Nick Salvati, my associate."_  
  
Shaking his head, Malcolm was half-tempted to chuckle at the use of the word 'associate'. Moira, on the other, hand tried not to shudder since she knew another man, who called an assassin by the word 'associate'. She glanced towards Malcolm to see his enjoyment, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. 

_"How do you do?" he said, shaking the man's hand._

_"Let's have a drink." Frank said, leading the way into the study. As they walked, movement from upstairs caught Oliver's eye. He looked up to see Helena walking past the stairs. Their eyes met briefly before she moved on._  
  
Deep down, Helena was torn. She hated these times due how much she had lost during this time, but she had met Oliver here too. Because of him, she had found a way to deal with her rage and while it had taken years for her to appreciate what true justice meant, she eventually had moved on from Michael's murder. 

_The scene shifted back to Queen Manor. Thea and Moira were in Moira's bed in their pajamas, with Thea controlling the remote while Moira flipped through magazines._

_"So what are you in the mood for?" Thea asked her mother. "We could watch reality housewife cooking show… or 'Cop Docs'." She looked at her mom and explained, "It's where doctors run around fighting crime when they're not all sleeping with each other."_

_Moira laughed lightly. "Whatever you want, sweetheart. You're the one who's given up your evening out."_

_"Oh, it's not like there's anybody else who could be staying with you." Thea said, then gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, wait, yes, there is."_  
  
"Thea," Moira sighed exasperatedly. She didn't like to see herself practically being a burden on her children, but she couldn't imagine that it had to be that terrible to spend a night with her. 

Again, Thea didn't respond; instead, she focused more on the memories unwilling to be drawn into any conversation with her 'mother'. 

_"Don't be too harsh on your brother." Moira advised. Thea looked at her._

_"Why not?" she asked. "I mean, aren't you getting sick of his lies?"_

_"Thea, everyone has secrets." Moira began. "We all have things that we want to keep to ourselves."_

_"I just don't get him sometimes." Thea groused. Moira pulled her closer. Thea leaned her head against Moira's shoulder._

_"I know, I know." She affirmed. "You know, being in that hospital and seeing Dr. Lamb again, it made me remember the day that Oliver came home. It was Dr. Lamb that told me that the Oliver we'd lost might not be the Oliver that they'd found." She explained. "I think it's easy to forget, but he lived apart from civilization for 5 years."_  
  
"And turned into a killing machine," Quentin commented, much to Laurel's annoyance.

"He should be dead after what he went through," the lawyer growled, and she saw that Moria was nodding in agreement. 

"It wasn't for lack of trying," Slade smirked. Moira tried not to let the man's words affect her, but she was beginning to dislike this mercenary more than she did with Malcolm. 

_"So what, he gets like a free pass?"_

_"No. No, no, no, not at all. I just think we need to stop judging him for the Oliver he was and start accepting him for the Oliver that he is." Moira said softly._  
  
"Guess his attempt at fooling us that he's the same fell through," Tommy added, tearing his gaze from Slade. 

"Yeah except it didn't," Thea frowned. "I mean how long does it take for us all to put this together?" She hadn't been asking seriously, so she was shocked when Helena answered.

"Two years." Helena, of course, was only referring to when Thea finally discovered the truth and not Tommy or Moira's discovery. 

"It takes us two years?" Laurel repeated, flabbergasted. "He doesn't even wear a mask."

"He does eventually," Helena shrugged. "And you didn't figure it out." With that, she returned to silence. It wasn't her place to explain how it would be Oliver's team that would rat him out. Now that Helena thought on it, Moira was perhaps the only person who had figured it out on their own without being told or pulling Oliver's hood back while he was unconscious. 

_The scene shifted back to the Bertinelli residence._

_"So, Oliver, I'll be honest with you." Frank was saying, handing Oliver a drink. "I was surprised to hear from you. It was my impression from the local news that you weren't going to be involved with your family's business."  
_  
"Define family," Tommy snorted. By technicality, Oliver was doing the job his father asked of him after all. 

_"Well, apparently there were a few catch phrases that I missed while I was away for 5 years. One of them being 'lame-stream media'." The three men laughed. "The press never gets anything right."_  
  
Thea tried to stifle her groan; at times, she wondered how she was related to Oliver with how lame he could be at times. Then again, she had just discovered she was only half of his sister, and who knew, in her mind, how true Oliver's parentage was. 

_"Oh, I know a thing or two about that." Frank assured the man. Nick's phone rang, and he got up to answer it. Frank leaned back in his chair and stared at Oliver confidently. "So, Oliver, I'll be blunt. I want the contract to build Queen Consolidated's new Applied Sciences Division."_

_"And I am inclined to give it to you." Oliver assured him._

_"Your mother wasn't quite so enthusiastic." Frank noted. "How is she, by the way?"_

_"She's recuperating at home." Oliver said. "Thank you."_

_"What a terrible thing that happened." Frank said sincerely. Oliver nodded.  
_  
Laurel eyed Helena cautiously. The future Black Canary found herself on edge around the Huntress, and she was getting the distinct feeling that her future self and Bertinelli did not get along. 

" _And Frank, I was very sorry to hear about what happened to Paul Copani."_

_"Paul was a good friend." Frank stated. "He was a good man." He sighed, rubbing his eye. "Yeah. The violence in this city. You know, sometimes I wonder why I stay." He said, taking a drink.  
_  
"Wait… is he being serious?" Thea asked in confusion. "Or is he just that good of an actor? I mean… he had this Paul killed right?" She couldn't help her naivety when it came to matters such as these.

"No," Helena laughed. "He did not put the hit out on his own man."

"Then why?" Tommy asked.

Detective Lance snorted and said simply, "Revenge." It was a guess, of course, but he felt confident in saying so.

"Revenge? Over what?" Thea gaped. "He's her father, and she killed one of his friends, mob person or not."

Helena would have found the situation all the more ironic if her own emotions weren't twisted into knots over seeing this all over again. "Because he deserved it," she finally said. All these years later, these murders were one thing she had never come to regret. She hated what she had done to everyone else… and she felt something- bad, perhaps- about what happened to her father… but what happened to Paul or Nick… she felt nothing for them. 

" _I've had the same thought." Oliver confided._

_"So why did you come back?" Frank asked. "After that island, you could have settled anywhere in the world."_

_"Because Starling City is my home." Oliver replied simply._  
  
Helena couldn't help but close her eyes with the thought of what had become of Starling City. It had been her home too, and it hurt to know what had become of it. As such, she hadn't returned. 

_"Chi si volta, e chi si gira, sempre a casa, va finire." Helena said, entering the room. "No matter which way you go or turn, you always end up at home." She translated. Oliver and Frank rose._

_"Oliver, this is my daughter Helena." He introduced._

_"Hello." Oliver said. Helena gave him a polite smile._

_"Nice to meet you." She said, and then turned to her father. "I'm heading out."_

_"All right. Take one of the guys with you."_

_"I can take care of myself." She protested._  
  
"Just because you can use a gun doesn't mean you can protect yourself," Quentin explained bluntly.

Helena smiled sickly sweet and said, "You're still alive… at least in the memories." She felt Laurel's gaze on her skin, but she kept her opinion to herself. However, she couldn't help the look she shot Laurel though. There had been numerous times and stories that Helena had heard about the Black Canary resorting to firearms… at least against the Dark Archer and a few other League of Assassin members over the years. 

_"I wasn't asking, sweetie." He replied, touching her lightly on the chin. Before she could argue further, Nick came back in._

_"Frank, that meeting you requested. They can do it." He told his boss, giving him a significant look. "Now."_

_"I can come back another time." Oliver started, but Frank shook his head._

_"No, no, no." he put his drink down, and then looked at his daughter thoughtfully. "Just, uh, just excuse us for a moment, would you? Thank you."_

_Frank and Helena walked out into the Foyer, followed by Nick. "Oliver Queen." Helena harrumphed. "The rich man's Lindsay Lohan."_  
  
Quentin snorted in agreement, much to his displeasure. The last thing he wanted to do was to have the same opinion as Helena Bertinelli. He liked her even less than Queen… at least he was doing something for reasons beyond revenge.

_"Look, um…" he started, "I've got to go to this other meeting, but I need someone to take him to dinner."_

_Helena gave him a disgusted look. "So you pimp out your daughter."_

_"No. I ask her to help me close a business deal." He countered. "A reminder that the family business is dying and that we need this contract, and Oliver Queen can give it to us. Please, Sweet Pea. For us. For me. Hmm?" she finally gave him a reluctant smile. "That's my girl." He said warmly. Just then Oliver walked into the foyer. "Oliver, I'm so sorry. Something has come up. But Helena would love to take you to dinner and discuss the deal further." He said, indicating his daughter._

_"Oh." Oliver didn't try to hide his disappointment. "I was hoping to speak with you."_  
  
"How long until he finds out she is exactly who he wants to speak too?" Tommy asked.

Laurel couldn't help but quip, "How long until he gets her into his bed?" She hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but beyond the vigilante business, this was one other area Oliver had always done well in. She had hoped while they were dating he had stayed loyal, but after losing Sara, she had come to terms with exactly the type of playboy Oliver had been… and how blind she had been. 

_"Well, as you speak for your family, my daughter also speaks for ours."_

_"It's…It's really not necessary." He looked curiously at Helena. There was an attraction there, and possibly something deeper. A look deep in her eyes that he recognized and that she, in turn, recognized in him._

_"It would be my pleasure." She lied._

_"Sure." Oliver finally agreed. Frank held out his hand, and Oliver shook it._  
  
"Sooner than you think," Helena admitted, her gaze seeking out Laurel's. The Huntress smirked, and she watched as Tommy placed a calming hand on the eventual Canary to keep her in her seat. 

"Are you always such a bitch?" Thea growled, feeling bad for Laurel.

"Thea," Moira scolded. The last thing she wanted was for her youngest to rub one of these masked vigilantes the wrong way.

However to their shock, Helena chuckled and shrugged. "Some things never change." Her hatred, on the other hand, had been one thing that had. 

_"I look forward to working together." He told the younger man, patting him on the arm as he and Nick left._

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli Construction Yard. China White and her associates got out of her Mercedes and walked up to Frank and Nick, who stood waiting.  
_  
"Not her again," Moira whispered. She had seen her son hold his own once against this woman, but how long until his luck ran out? She had already been told that this crusade would cost him his life, and while no one had given them a timeline, she worried that it was sooner rather than later.

"He'll be fine," Malcolm reassured, and while she still couldn't meet his gaze, she nodded her thanks. And if he wasn't, Malcolm could always note that if this fight came to pass, he would suit up himself to help. The Chinese triad gone would be that much better for the city.

" _Thank you for coming."_

_"Anything for a friend." China White replied. Her associate spoke in Mandarin, and she translated. "We're not responsible for the attacks on your people."_

_"These attacks on my business, on my family's life blood- they stop now, or I'm coming for you." He threatened. The four stared at each other for a moment before the two Asians headed back to their car.  
_  
"You're risking a gang war," Quentin growled in Helena's direction. "That will tear Starling City apart."

Nodding, Helena said, "I am. That was the point." He obviously hadn't been expecting her to agree with him, and he fell silent in turn. 

" _What does the Triad have to gain by provoking you now?" Nick asked Frank. Frank shrugged._

_"Well, no one ever credited the Triad with rational thinking." He noted, and then asked "If not them, then who?"  
_  
"I wonder how he'd feel knowing it was his daughter," Thea mused. 

"Betrayed," Laurel said a breath later. 

"I know the feeling," was all the youngest Queen responded with.   
__  
The scene changed to the SCPD, where Lance and Hilton were listening to the wiretap of the construction yard. 'Whoever it is, when I find out who's behind this, there will be blood.'

_"Sounds like Bertinelli's ready to put the screws to everyone who pays him protection money." Hilton noted._

_"Yeah, well, 3 of his best earners have been murdered." Lance replied. "He's gotta make up the cash somewhere. Whoever is pruning the family tree is looking to make Bertinelli suffer." Lance got up and looked at the board that detailed Bertinelli's operation._

_"So you do think it's one of the other families." Hilton guessed._

_"No." Lance said._

_"Then who?"_

_Lance turned to look at his partner. "Well, according to the coroner's reports, none of the vics took a clean shot. Half the bullets missed." He shook his head. "Our killer's not a pro."_  
  
"Or I just didn't have the right weapon yet," Helena pointed out as she set her crossbow gently onto her lap. She could see the wariness in Quentin's eyes, and she suddenly didn't entirely regret telling Artemis she would handle the next few memories if needed.

"Why a bow?" Tommy finally asked. "I mean… aren't they considered, I don't know, out of date?"

"Bows require focus and discipline," Malcolm explained. "They might be archaic, but the ability to use one requires more skill than it ever takes to use a gun." A bow in his hand made him more deadly than any person with a gun, save a few high end mercenaries.

"Didn't realize you knew so much about bows, Dad," Tommy said, his tone betraying how little he cared for the man's opinion at the moment.

However, Malcolm didn't let it get to him. He only nodded and leaned back unwilling to divulge any more at this moment. Artemis had revealed to him in the prior night that his secret wasn't going to remain secret for much longer, but that did not mean he had to help it along. His son would only pull that much farther away and take his new daughter along for the ride; he had to hopefully mend this bridge before it was burned to ash.

_"That's not stopping him from pulling that trigger." Hilton stated._

_"That's up to us." Lance turned back to the board. "Or this is gonna blow up into an all-out mob war."_  
  
"Or my brother," Thea happily added. "At least one of them," she muttered under her breath.

_The scene changed to a small Italian restaurant. The owner, Mr. Russo sat Oliver and Helena at a small table in the corner and passed them menus._

_"You are an angel, Helena." Mr. Russo gushed "So beautiful. Well, we are gonna take good care of both of you tonight. You'll tell your father hello from us?"_

_Helena smiled at the man. "Of course, Mr. Russo."_

_"I'll give you a minute." He said, moving away._

_"Thank you." Helena said. She looked at Oliver. "I heard about your mother's accident. Is she gonna be okay?" she asked._  
  
"You're the one that took a shot at her!" Laurel growled. 

"But I didn't kill her, did I?" Helena rebutted with a sigh. 

"You could have," Thea said in defense. "They just said you're not a good shot. You could have easily hurt my mother."

"But I didn't," Helena countered. "And if it matters, I was trying to avoid her."

_Oliver smiled, picking up his menu. "She's gonna be fine. Thanks."_

_"I'm glad." She said sincerely. They both took a moment to look at their menus. "So, why would you want to go into business with my father?" she asked suddenly. "You know who he is and how he made his money."_

_"You don't approve of your family's enterprises?" he asked._

_"We share a name, and that name defines us whether we want it to or not." She gave him a brittle smile. "You've already made judgments about me, just like I've already made judgments about you."_  
  
"Well… that was deep," Tommy noted. He felt similar some days. Since his name was Merlyn, he constantly found himself in his father's shadow, and whatever his father did, he was viewed the same way. He couldn't say that was the reason why he did half the things he did, but he knew deep down that was part of the reason for the parties, the outings, and the constant irresponsibility. 

_"Right. I'm the rich man's Lindsay Lohan." Her smile now looked apologetic._

_"Sorry." She apologized._

_"That's okay." He assured her._

_"Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly._

_"Yeah."_

_"I know it must have been hell for you, alone on that island for 5 years, but I'm…"_

_Oliver looked at her curiously. "But what?" he prodded._

_She looked at him, a serious look in her eyes. "But was there ever a day when you were just… happy to be away from everything? No pressure from your family, no need to be the person everyone else expects you to be. Was there ever a day when—"  
_  
Slade closed his eye and thought back on the good times on the island. If he focused, he could see Shado's face and hear her voice almost as though it was yesterday. Those first few weeks after Fryer's had been some of the best times of his life on that Island. He couldn't even care if the kid had only Shado's attention since they were all still happy. It made the pain of her loss all the more real in this time period, and it took all his patience to hold back and not attack Oliver's family. He'd let one live to tell this tale, but this Justice League should have accounted on his promise. He wasn't going to simply set it aside to see how things played out… not if he could cause the kid pain.

" _When I didn't feel lost and I felt free?" he finished. She nodded slightly. "More than one." He admitted. "And, uh those are the days that I miss." Helena smiled and took a sip of her water._  
  
"He misses that place?" Thea asked, unbelieving. After seeing her own brother tortured on that Island, it made no sense to her that he would even think to miss it. His home was Starling- that was the only place he should miss in her mind.

"It was home," Slade remarked with a smirk. "Ms. Merlyn," he added on purpose to continue poking that obvious raw wound in the room. He watched the girl's mother spine straighten; however, it wasn't her reaction he was watching for but Mr. Merlyn's. He needed to see how protective the man would be of his newfound daughter, and based on the look he was sent, Slade knew the first thing he'd have to do after dispatching this Helena was deal with whoever this business man actually was. 

"Don't," Helena warned, her gaze boring into both Malcolm and Slade. Similar to Artemis's arrows, hers were tipped with enough venom to lay Slade out flat for a few hours, but against the Dark Archer, she would have to fight hand to hand. She didn't think Artemis would forgive her if she shot Malcolm and killed him via the poison.

_The scene changed to an Indian restaurant where Tommy had taken Laurel on their date. Laurel was smirking at Tommy, who was suffering through very spicy curry._

_"What, is it too spicy for you, Merlyn?" Laurel joked, casually sipping her water._

_"No! No, not really" He denied, wiping his face with his napkin. "I'm just, um, I'm just crying because I was thinking of a Hallmark commercial I saw earlier today, featuring a sick kitty. It was very emotional." The two laughed._  
  
Tommy grinned at Laurel, who could only sigh and roll her eyes. She found him endearing at the moment, but she wasn't about to let him know that. It would only feed his ego, in her opinion, and that was one thing he didn't need stroked at the moment.

_Their waiter came up to their table. "Will there be anything else?"_

_"No." Tommy said, handing him his credit card. "Thank you." He smiled at Laurel. "Thanks for letting me take you to dinner."_

_"Well, thank you for letting me choose Indian." Laurel replied._

_"You know, I read this article by a film critic once, who said if he could have one wish, it would be to watch his favorite movie again for the first time." Tommy said suddenly. "I kind of wish that was us."_  
  
"Who knew you could be a romantic?" Thea teased. She found her jealousy about Tommy and Laurel's budding relationship had all but vanished with the revelation of Tommy being related. Since he was now her brother, she was glad to see him happy, but that didn't mean she couldn't tease him. 

_"So you want dinner and a movie." Laurel joked._

_"No. I wish we had just met and that all this was just beginning and there wasn't so much of me I wish you'd forget." He admitted._  
  
"Or Oliver," Thea added with a smile. Laurel groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"Couldn't agree more," Quentin muttered. He did not like his daughter flirting with either Merlyn or Queen.

_"Well, keep saying nice things like that and maybe next time I'll let you choose the restaurant." She said with a smile._

_"Mr. Merlyn?" Tommy looked up at the waiter who had suddenly appeared._

_"Yeah?" he asked._

_"I'm sorry, I'm afraid you credit card has been declined."_  
  
"My card had never been declined…" Tommy said aghast. "That's not… possible." He stumbled over his words, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. It wasn't him yet in the memory, but to know he had taken Laurel on a date, he couldn't pay for was nonetheless uncomfortable for him. 

Across the room, Malcolm smiled knowingly. He had wondered if he would go through with that plan since Oliver had returned, so he was pleased to see just that. His son needed to grow up, especially in a world heading in a direction that contained this Justice League. To need a group such as this, meant things were going to get worse before getting better. His son would not survive a fight like that unless Malcolm helped to thicken his son's skin to the real world. 

_Tommy looked up in confusion. "Did you swipe it a few times? You know, sometimes those things can be a little glitchy."_

_"I did, and, um, I'm afraid the credit card company wants me to confiscate it." The waiter replied. "Sorry."  
_  
Tommy sputtered; Laurel reached over and squeezed his hand. "It's not a big deal. I'm perfectly capable of paying for a meal." She could see her words didn't help, but it was the truth. She didn't believe in the tradition that a guy always had to pay for a meal, and she had gone through enough meals with little cash in law school

_The scene changed back to Russos. The restaurant was empty, all other tables cleared. But Oliver and Helena were still sitting, chatting amicably._  
  
Thea almost opened her mouth to comment how much better it seemed the date between Oliver and Helena was going until she noticed Tommy's blush. She didn't understand what he was so embarrassed over since a credit card error was easily remedied. However, she decided not to poke that fire anymore, and instead, only gave her brother a small smile of encouragement.

_"People are always asking me, what did I miss the most?" he was saying. "Air conditioning. Satellite radio. Tagliet-uh-ta—"_

_"Tagliatelle?" she supplied._

_"Mm. Right." He agreed. "But those are the answers that I give people because those are the answers they're expecting."_

_"Why can't you just be truthful?" she asked._

_"I don't know how truthful I can be." He admitted._

_Helena considered the man. "You've been through a crucible, and it changed you." She announced. "How can it not?"_  
  
Helena closed her eyes and thought back on her own and the subsequent ones she had gone through to become the person… no, the hero… she was today. She had lost so much, and Oliver, in turn, had given her back the chance to take back her life. She couldn't help but hope that this plan of Artemis's would actually work. They were all at the end of their possibilities at this point.

"Intelligent," Malcolm noted. He remembered his own, so to speak, crucible- the loss of his wife and the rebuilding with the League of Assassins. One simply could not walk into the fire and come back the same. It was impossible, and he could see that like himself Helena had gone through just the same.

_Not knowing how to respond, Oliver just looked at the beautiful woman across from him. A glint of silver caught his eye. "That's beautiful." He said. "Your cross."_

_Here smile was almost a grimace. "It's a gift. From my fiancé."_

_Oliver smiled awkwardly. "Fiancé."_

_"Mm."_

_"I didn't know you were engaged." He began, but she cut him off._

_"I'm not, anymore. He died." She explained sadly._

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Me, too." She sat back, fingering her cross. "That was my crucible."_  
  
Quentin glanced over to the Huntress, questions swirling in his gaze. He had stated earlier that she was doing this work because of revenge, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was just given the cause for her crusade. 

_Oliver took a sip of water. "You know, it's nice to It's really nice to be with someone that I can be myself with." He said sincerely._

_"It's nice to be with someone who knows how hard it can be." She responded, equally sincere._  
  
"Of course, the first person he really opens up to is a murderer," Tommy sighed.

"Birds of feather Merlyn," Quentin pointed out.

"No, he's…" Tommy began before trailing off. He didn't stop because he questioned if Oliver and Helena were truly different, but because he truly saw them and their actions as completely different. He had seen Helena's shooting and her indifference to those caught in the cross-fire. Something Oliver had done thus far was limit casualties when he could… and to Tommy, that separated how dissimilar the two were.

_"I'm really sorry." He said again._

_"It's okay." She assured it._

_Suddenly his phone rang. He looked at her apologetically as he pulled out his phone and answered. "Yeah."_

_"It's Diggle. Something came up. You gotta get out of there and call me back." Oliver sighed as he hung up. He looked sadly at Helena, sorry that the night was over._

_"Helena, I have to go." He said. "There's something that I have to do. It's about my mother, otherwise I would, uh, I would stay."_  
  
"He's not going to like finding out she's the one under the helmet," Laurel sighed, and Tommy nodded.

"At least she wasn't trying to kill me," Moira said. She wasn't thrilled to see her son's interest in the mob boss's daughter, but she couldn't help the warmth that filled her to see Oliver finally letting someone through his armor. Her son was not meant to be alone, and knowing that this Helena was sitting amongst them in a tower of proclaimed heroes spoke to the chance that this would end well and not in tragedy. 

_"And I would like that." She admitted. Oliver smiled at her and pulled out a wad of cash. He set it down on the table, but suddenly his hand was covered by hers._

_"My father would kill me if I let you pay." He just smiled, withdrawing his hand, but leaving the money._

_"I have a confession." Oliver said as he rose. "I didn't want to go out with you tonight."_

_Helena smiled. "That makes two of us."_

_"But I'm really glad that I did." He finished._

_"That makes two of us." She replied quietly. He gave her one last look, then turned to leave. "Oliver." She said suddenly, and he turned around. "Be careful with my father." She advised him. He nodded, then left._  
  
"This has to do with your fiance doesn't it?" Quentin asked, and Helena found herself reaching up to grasp her cross. Instead of voicing anything, she simply nodded in sadness. She hadn't realized how hard this would be to watch this all again. Old emotions were threatening to overtake her, and it was only her years of training that kept her grounded. 

_The scene changed back to Queen Manor. Moira was in bed flipping through a magazine when there was a knock on the door._

_"Thea, you don't need to knock, sweetheart." She said absently._

_"What about me?" Moira looked up in alarm to see Malcolm Merlyn standing in her bedroom. "I hope you don't mind; Thea let me in."  
_  
"Oh god, I don't want to see you two," Thea grumbled.

"Thea," Malcolm interrupted. "Your mother and I are good friends." Much to Moira's irritation, he had his daughter's attention. "I'm sure I'm there to check in on her, nothing else."

"Oh?" she questioned, unbelieving.

"It was one time," he admitted. "And it never happened again. Not that I regret that you were born out of it… so I hope that with time you and I can actually get to know each other." More than anything, Moira wanted to keep her daughter as far from Malcolm as possible, but he had just helped her calm, something she hadn't been able to do thus far. Plus, she knew that he would never hurt his own children, so perhaps her secret being out would actually protect Thea… so for now, Moira bit her tongue and only nodded to confirm Malcolm's words.

"It was a moment of weakness," Moira admitted. "But I love you… Robert loved you." She wanted to close this distance she had with Thea more than anything, and this moment it looked like a step in the right direction when Thea didn't immediately shoot her down. 

" _What are you doing here?" she asked with a tremor in her voice._

_"I wanted to see how your recovery was going."_

_"Well, surely someone of your means has a telephone." She argued.  
_  
At first, Thea didn't want to believe either of them, but hearing the tone her mother was taking in the memory confirmed the current Malcolm and her mother's words. She could see that in the memory that Malcolm's visit was the last thing Moira would ever want, and now, she couldn't help but be curious about what would lead them to this… if they were such good friends as Mr. Merlyn had suggested. 

_"I like to see someone when I have something important to talk about." Malcolm said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "We used to be friends, Moira. I still remember that time. You, me, and Robert." He said, almost wistfully. "Which is why I came by. You are a vital part of Starling City's future. Robert feared that future. He lost his conviction." His voice sharpened, tinged with threat. "It's been my experience that when someone has a brush with death like you experienced today, even their deepest held convictions can change. Have they?"_  
  
Unlike the others in the room, Quentin and Slade recognized a thinly veiled threat when they heard one. The detective narrowed his gaze as he tried to think of a reason Malcolm would be so comfortable with threatening Ms. Queen. Obviously the Merlyn on screen had no clue about Thea's parentage, so Quentin wondered if perhaps that was what Malcolm was holding over Moira's head. A parent would do anything to protect their child…

_Moira looked him in the eyes. "No." she assured him._

_Malcolm smiled. "You didn't have to say it." he said, suddenly her eyes couldn't meet his anymore. "I can see that they haven't." The implied threat clear, Malcolm rose and left a trembling Moira alone in her room._  
  
Laurel caught the threat. She had seen it enough times with people trying to bully her clients, but she kept it to herself for the moment. The tension in the room was bad enough with the reveal of Thea's parentage; if she divulged this, it would start the fight anew. It looked as though Thea was slowly coming to accept who her biological parent was, and the last thing she needed was to have even more rage over the situation. Once things calmed, Laurel planned to pull Thea aside and talk about it then.

_The scene changed to the Alley next to Russo's. Oliver quickly called Diggle back. "What happened?" he asked._

_"Yeah, it's what's about to happen." Dig began. "Bertinelli's enforcer Nick Salvati?"_

_"Yeah. We drank a scotch together. He seems like a real stand-up mobster." Oliver said dryly._

_"Yeah, well, he's been paying visits to everyone who owes the mob protection money."_

_"Diggle, I'm trying to figure out who took a shot at my mother, not take on all of organized crime." Oliver argued.  
_  
"It'd do the city some good though if the Bertinelli family was stopped…" Laurel said with a shake of her head. She couldn't even count on both hands how many families had ended up on the wrong side of Frank Bertinelli and paid for it. Those small businesses were constantly crushed, and not even the police had done anything substantial to stop it. 

"No offense," Tommy added for Laurel while looking towards Helena. 

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" the Huntress responded, referring to her own younger version.

"You're not doing this out of the kindness of your heart," Quentin scoffed. "You want your father to pay… for what I'm guessing is your fiance?" 

"Yes," she said, tight lipped. She didn't have a defense since the detective was right. What her younger self was doing was not justice, but plain and simple revenge. She regretted how many people had gotten caught in the cross-fire, but to this day, she didn't exactly regret her response to the need and want to stop her own father. 

" _Well, listen, Oliver, Salvati and his goons have already put 4 people in the hospital tonight," Dig shot back, "and if somebody doesn't stop them, the poor bastard who owns Russo's is gonna be next."_

_"Wait, wait." Oliver said, halting Diggle's rant. "Russo's?" he asked to clarify._

_"It's at the corner of Adams and—"_

_"I know where it is, Diggle. I'm here right now."_  
  
"Yeah, good luck to those goons," Thea grinned knowing her brother for all his words would step in here. 

_That brought Dig up short. "What?"_

_Oliver grimaced. "I was having dinner with Bertinelli's daughter."_

_"Oliver, you're supposed to be going undercover, not speed dating." Dig scolded._

_"I didn't have a choice."_

_"Yeah, well, uh, I've seen her on the web. You made quite the sacrifice." Dig quipped._  
  
"I'd make that sacrifice," Tommy began until he noticed Laurel's look. "Only of course if it was with you."

"Smooth Merlyn," Thea chuckled. 

Across the room, both Moira and Malcolm were grateful to see how quickly Tommy and Thea had fallen into the sibling category. To some small degree, Moira felt terrible for robbing her daughter of that connection for so long, but she hadn't been lying when she had said she had had her daughter's interests at heart. Now though, she was beginning to see that this was perhaps the proper course and not just because it would protect Thea from Malcolm's schemes. 

_Oliver looked down the alley and saw a town car park across the street. He cursed. "Salvati's here."_

_Inside the restaurant, Mr. Russo was counting the night's receipts as his daughter finished cleaning up. She was about to lock the doors when Nick Salvati and to other enforcers walked in._

_"I'm sorry, we're closed." The girl said timidly. Salvati just gave her a look, and then walked over to Russo._

_"Oh, Mr. Salvati. Buona sera." He said nervously to the gangster. "I have some fresh-made lasagna—" he tried, but Nick cut him off._

_"We're not here for food, Mr. Russo." He said. "Your payment's due."_

_"I already made my payment this month." Russo argued._  
  
"How can they get away with this?" Thea asked, thrown for a loop. "Isn't that why there's a police?"

"Sometimes, the police can't do anything," Laurel sighed sadly. It was the truth, and it was terrible that good people had to suffer because of it. 

"But why?"

"Because Ms. Queen, you need burden of proof," Quentin huffed. He didn't agree with this since he was certain half the burden was buried due to dirty cops. Mob families paid good money to keep cops in their pockets. 

Smiling knowingly, Thea couldn't help but counter with, "My brother doesn't."

"And because of that, he's a criminal," Quentin growled effectively quieting the youngest Queen. She wanted to keep arguing, but Laurel had reached over and shook her head. This was not the time for another fight over this issue.

Helena, on the other hand, did not follow Laurel's suggestion and added, "Not forever. I'm sure you've been told vigilantism is legal in this day." 

_"You need to pay again." Nick said coldly._

_"Please. I can't afford to make another payment if I'm going to—"_

_"Going to what?" he asked. He saw several bottle so wine sitting on the bar. "Restock your bar?" he swept the bottles off the bar, and they crashed to the ground sending wine and broken glass everywhere. "Break his fingers." He nodded to one of the men._  
  
Thea shook her head in disgust and prayed her brother would make an appearance. People should not have to go through this, and she felt so naïve for never seeing these sort of crimes going on in her home. She was beginning to see why she would eventually pick up the hood as well. It terrified her in part to see what she'd become, but another part, a fast growing part, was intrigued with who she would become. 

_"Leave him alone!" his daughter yelled, pulling at the goon._

_"Break hers, too." Nick decided. The other good grabbed the girl._

_"No! Don't touch her!" Russo yelled. Suddenly an arrow struck the fuse box, sending the restaurant into darkness. And then the Hood was among them, taking out the two goons and yelling for the Russo's to get out. He turned his attention to Nick, who was trying to shoot him, and didn't see the second gangster start to get back to his feet.  
_  
Laurel couldn't help but look to her father at this point. Groaning, Quentin conceded, "Fine fine… Glad to see Queen is doing something." He had grumbled it, but in truth, he was grateful that the business owner wasn't going to be hurt. 

"Unlike the police," Thea added. Laurel shot the younger Queen an exasperated look. One step forward, two steps back. 

_Suddenly the biker was there, opening fire and taking out the two goons. The Hood threw a flechette, disarming her, and moved in to attack, and Nick took the opportunity to escape. The two masked vigilantes traded blows furiously; obviously the girl was better trained hand to hand than she was in firearms. But The Hood was better, and he landed a blow on her helmet's visor, shattering it. He then took the opportunity to yank off the helmet- revealing Helena underneath. The Hood stood, shocked, and Helena took the opportunity to escape, leaving the stunned Oliver behind._  
  
Malcolm shook his head. "That was a mistake," he noted. He couldn't blame the boy for being shocked at who his opponent was, but it was foolish of the Queen scion to let Helena escape. Out of everyone they had seen thus far in these memories, Helena now posed a substantial threat. She was capable of discovering Oliver's identity, and as such, that made her a danger. Malcolm wondered how quickly Oliver would come to regret allowing her to escape. Then again, he glanced towards the Helena in the room; it seemed things eventually would work out. He was just curious about how much blood it would cost in the meantime.

_The scene changed back to the Foundry, where a frustrated Oliver was pacing as Diggle sat at the computer._

_"I don't understand. Why is she targeting her family?" he wondered aloud._

_"I don't know. And here I thought you had parental issues." Dig joked._  
  
"Well he isn't trying to kill his own mother," Laurel said aloud. 

"And you think she's going to go after her father?" Thea asked, curiously.

"Why else would I target everyone else in my father's so-called business," Helena explained. "I was working my way up the food chain."

"Without any care about who got in the way," Quentin scoffed.

"No, not really," Helena stated sadly. "And that was why I apologized for this last night." 

_"It's not a joke, Diggle." Oliver ground out, his frustration building. Diggle gave him a look._

_"Oliver, you're not falling for this girl, are you?" he asked. "Because I know you can't be that crazy."_

_At Oliver's silence, Dig pressed on. "Helena Bertinelli shot at your mother. She also murdered four men in cold blood."_

_"She has to have reasons for what she's doing." He defended. Dig scoffed._

_"Reasons? Since when do you care about the bad guys' reasons? Oh, she is the bad guy, Oliver. She's the killer. And whatever's going on in your head, you better get it straight, man." He stood to stand in front of Oliver. "Any attempt on his right hand is gonna send your new friend's father on the warpath."_  
  
"Warpath?" Tommy asked.

"Gang war," Malcolm responded as he leaned forward in curiosity. The girl was blinding the other archer from the truth of what was going to happen if he didn't stop her. That made her of use to Mr. Merlyn if he wanted to keep Oliver away from the Undertaking or have a different way to control him… since Artemis was quite correct. He couldn't exactly use Thea to do that any longer since she was his daughter. 

_Oliver looked him in the eyes. "I know what I'm doing."_

_Dig scoffed again. "Now I know how your family feels when you lie to them."_

_The scene changed to the SCPD. Lance was with Kelton, watching video surveillance of the fight at Russo's._

_"Is this the only angle you got?" Lance asked, frustrated. Kelton shrugged.  
_  
Laurel shook her head as she realized that they wouldn't get a shot of Helena like this. She leaned in and told Tommy as much, who frowned in turn. This meant that it would be left up to Oliver again to try and stop what was coming. Tommy found himself silently rooting for his friend. The city, in this situation, needed the Hood or else that gang war his father had mentioned previously would tear the city apart. 

" _The Russos chintzed out a bit on their security package." He explained._  
  
"I wonder why," Laurel said sarcastically. "Could it be because half their money goes to Bertinelli?" 

_"Somebody is in the wings with a gun shooting at these guys." Lance sighed. "What do you got from earlier?" he asked._

_"You mean before the shooting?" Lance nodded yes. "A business dinner, a birthday dinner, a couple of blind dates…"_

_"Any guests of the Chinese persuasion?" at his confused look, Quentin said "Humor me."_

_Kelton rewound the video file to earlier during dinner. He started looking at one of the closer tables when Lance spotted something. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. What was that?" He exclaimed, taking over the keyboard._

_"Help yourself." Kelton muttered as Lance zoomed in on a far table. He spotted Helena Bertinelli, then panned over to see her date._

_"Son of a bitch."_  
  
"Are you that focused on my son?" Moira said with a shake of her head. "The city could be under siege of the Chinese triad and you're going after my son… again." Of course they all knew Oliver was the vigilante, but in these memories, Detective Lance did not. As such, his crusade against her son looked woefully wrong and illegal in some ways. 

_The scene changed to later at Queen Manor. Oliver answered a knock on the front door, and found Detective Lance standing there._

_"Detective." He said pleasantly. "Is everything okay?"_

_Lance looked uncomfortable, but spoke. "Your, um, your buddy with the arrows was at Russo's last night."_

_Oliver smiled grimly. "And I was there earlier with a date. So what? You think I'm the hood guy again?" he asked._

_"No." Lance denied. "Your date. Helena Bertinelli. If I were you, I'd stay away from her. Her family's bad news on a good day." He warned the younger man.  
_  
"Thank you detective," Helena said dryly.

" _Why the sudden concern for my well-being?" Oliver asked, curious despite himself._

_Lance sighed. "A few weeks ago I made a mistake. I almost got you killed."_

_"And you felt like you owed me one?" Oliver realized._

_"If I did, as far as I'm concerned, this clears the books." Quentin spat, then turned and left._

__Moira did not even say anything as Quentin looked thoroughly ashamed by his on-screen actions. He hadn't done that to make the slate clean with Queen, and everyone could see that. He used it as an excuse to wipe his conscience clean.

_The scene changed to Merlyn Manor. Out on the Patio, Malcolm was in the middle of a furious session of fencing when Tommy stalked up to him._

_"Can I talk to you?" he asked his father. Upon getting no response, he yelled "Dad!"_

_"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little occupied at the moment." Malcolm said, not breaking his attack._

_"I just talked to the accountant." Tommy pressed on. "He said my accounts were frozen. He said my credit cards were all canceled!"_  
  
"You didn't!" Tommy scoffed turning on his father.

"You need to learn responsibility," Malcolm countered. "If that's what I need to do, it's what I'll do."

"It's my money," Tommy rebutted.

"No it's mine," Malcolm growled. "And you can't live off of it forever. Even Oliver has a business venture."

"Oh you mean putting arrows into people," Tommy said with a snort. "Great lifetime plan since we know it eventually kills him." By now, he was on his feet, staring down his father in anger. 

"I meant his club," Malcolm ground out. He glanced hesitantly towards Moira to see the utter destruction on her face with the reminder that her son would eventually die. 

Tommy had the good sense to stare towards the ground in embarrassment. "You always wanted me to be more like Oliver," he finally settled on. "If I picked up a bow and started killing people, you'd be happy."

"At least you'd be doing something," Malcolm countered. He couldn't exactly say how proud that would make him if his son did something such as that. Even if Oliver was standing in the way of his Undertaking currently, Malcolm respected the scion for doing something he believed in, for taking a stand against the destruction the city faced every day. "That's all I want. For you to take control of your life and do something."

"Yeah that's all," Tommy stated as Laurel eased him back into his seat. 

"Tommy," Malcolm began, but he watched his son close off. 

"You know Dad," Tommy growled out, "Normal people have conversations with their sons. They talk, act like a parent, tell them expectations. They don't go around disappearing for two years, creating some List, and having children with other people's wives!" He glanced towards Thea apologetically then. 

"Tommy…"

"No Dad, just no," he said. 

Slade found the entire situation grating. It was a wonder now to him that the kid had lived as long as he had on the island. 

_"I pay Sandy a king's ransom each year in fees, Tommy. When it comes to money, if he says it's so, it's so."_

_"Do you think this is a joke?" Tommy demanded._

_Malcolm finally signaled to his opponent for a break, then turned to his son and whipped off his helmet. "No." he answered. "You are. Although I must say, your chronic irresponsibility and terminal laziness has lost its humor." Tommy stared at his father, stunned and seething, "Hmm. You're wondering why now." Malcolm continued. "The better question is, why not sooner?"_  
  
"Seriously Dad, why not sooner?" Tommy quipped before he paused and barked out a short laugh. "Oliver… you're doing this because of him."

"Most likely," Malcolm confirmed. "But I cannot say for certain since I'm not him."

"Yes you are," Thea pointed out.

Malcolm sighed in disagreement. "Experiences shape us. That's the point of this, isn't it?" he said referring to the room. "I haven't gone through any of this yet."

_"It's my trust fund." Tommy argued._

_"Which is comprised of my money." Malcolm rejoined. "Oh, excuse me. Was comprised." He mockingly patted his son on the cheek, then put his helmet back on and turned to his opponent. Without another word, the two began dueling, while Tommy stalked off, dejected._  
  
Tommy didn't get the chance to say it when Thea did, "You're an ass."

"Yes well perhaps, this will force my son to do something with his life," Malcolm said, undeterred. If he had the choice, he would have probably sent Tommy to this Island to go through his own crucible… of course, he'd also send a troupe of body guards. There was no point in his son learning anything if it cost him his life. 

_The scene changed to outside a church later that night. Helena sat in its small cemetery in front of a tombstone. Oliver walked up softly behind her, stopping a respectful distance before calling out._

_"Helena."_

_She didn't even turn around. "How did you find me here?" she asked._

_"I followed you from your house." Oliver said. He looked at the headstone that read 'Michael Staton'. "Your fiancé?"_

_"Yeah." She replied, laying a single rose at the foot of the gravestone before rising to meet his gaze head on._  
  
It hurt Helena to think that the gravesite was nothing more than rubble now. She hadn't been back in years, not since its destruction. She hadn't needed to, but seeing it again via memory caused her to miss Michael more than she had in years. 

_"You said that losing him was your own crucible." He started. "That it changed you. You didn't say how."_

_"When you love someone as much as I loved him, with all of your heart- you can't just turn that emotion off when they're taken from you. You still feel things as deeply. And if it can't be love that you feel, then," she took a calming breath, "Then it becomes hate."_  
  
Malcolm found himself realizing that Helena wasn't similar to Oliver but to himself. He hated the Glades for taking Rebecca from him, and similar to her, he saw the destruction of the Glades as completely justice. The city would not, could not, be a better place until they were destroyed. 

_"Hate for who?" he asked. Helena just shook her head._

_"Oliver you should stay away from me." She said sadly, walking away._

_"Helena?" Oliver called, moving after her. They both stopped suddenly when a van pulled up next to the church. Nick Salvati got out, his gun aimed at Helena's head. "Get in." he demanded, and both Helena and Oliver were ushered into the van by two other gangsters._  
  
"How many times can my brother be kidnapped?" Thea wondered. 

"Yeah but who should we feel bad for?" Tommy snorted. "Those kidnappers have no idea what they just walked themselves into."

_The scene changed to an old warehouse down by the docks. Helena and Oliver were seated on chairs, their hands zip-cuffed behind them._

_Helena looked up at Nick with disgust. "My father is going to kill you for this." She said boldly. Nick smiled, then back-handed her, knocking her and her chair over. Helena hit the ground with a grunt._

_"I've been wanting to do that for years." Nick snarled, and then indicated to his men to pick her back up. "Spoiled bitch. I knew it was someone from the inside waging war against your father and me. I just never thought it'd be this inside." He held out his hand, and Helena's silver cross necklace dangled from his fingers. "You dropped this at Russo's."_  
  
"Smart move," Laurel joked. "How does he know she didn't drop it at dinner?"

"He probably doesn't," Helena admitted knowing her past self would soon end this. "But he doesn't care either." 

_Helena smirked up at the mobster. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for, Nicky." She admitted._

_"You're not." He raised his hand to hit her again._

_"Hey!" Oliver yelled, getting his attention even as he worked to free himself from the cuffs. "You're a businessman, right? So let's talk business." He began. "I can offer you a lot of money if you let us go."_  
  
"I bet you he has already slipped those cuffs," Thea muttered.

"Good," Moira whispered. 

_Nick looked at him with disgust. "This isn't about money, Richie Rich. This is about loyalty."_

_"He's got nothing to do with any of this." Helena argued. Nick whirled to face her._

_"Then what the hell is it about?" he demanded._

_"My father had Michael murdered." Helena snarled. Nick scoffed._

_"Of course he did. He didn't want you to know the truth." He leaned over her and yanked back her hair. "Your rat of a fiancé was gathering evidence. He was talking to the fucking FBI!" He let her hair go and stood. "The love of your life was going to destroy your father."_

_"You're wrong." Helena said._

_"I found a laptop in Michael's bag, Helena." Nick stated. "Everything that could send your father and me to prison for the rest of our lives was on it. That computer—"_

_"Was mine." She declared, shutting Nick up in surprise. "Michael wasn't the one talking to the FBI, I was." She admitted boldly._  
  
"You were going to destroy your father?" Quentin asked.

"He was a monster," Helena stated bluntly. "I could not sit idly by and let him do what he was doing to the city. I was too naïve to realize that it would cost my fiancé's life." 

Quentin realized he had read the other woman wrong, and he would have apologized if not for the fact she was now a killer in the memories. He didn't entirely blame her course of action since it would kill anyone to lose a loved one like that, but he didn't believe she should have resorted to murder and putting the entire city at risk either. 

_"You?"_

_"My father is a monster." She spat. "He doesn't care who he hurts to keep his money and power, and I wanted it to stop."_  
  
"My brother knows how to pick them," Thea muttered. 

_Nick shrugged. "Well, then it's your fault Michael's dead. Not your father for ordering the hit or me for carrying it out." He pointed at her. "Yours."_

_"You shot Michael." She said in dawning realization._

_"In the chest, so he knew it was me." He bragged, placing the cross back around her neck. He stood and moved back slightly, pulling his gun. "Just like this."_

_Oliver burst free at that moment, tackling Nick to the ground. His gun skidded away from him. The two goons moved in to attack, but Oliver caught them, taking them down while Helena also broke free and handled Nick. The two traded blows before Helena forced Nick back up against a forklift, her hand squeezing his throat. Oliver killed the last remaining goon and looked over at the woman._  
  
Malcolm shook his head grimly. Even a practically blind man would be able to see who Oliver was now, and the elder Merlyn wondered how the oldest Queen sibling would keep his secret. It was obvious that this Helena, in the memories, was unstable and not trusth-worthy enough to keep said truth to herself.

_"You're gonna burn in hell for what you've done!" Nick choked out._

_"It'll be worth it." She replied, and then broke his neck._

_"Helena!" Oliver exclaimed in shock and surprise._

_"I didn't have a choice, Oliver." She said, breathing heavily from the fight. "No one can know my secret."_  
  
Everyone flashed back to the first memory to when Oliver said those exact words. A shudder ran down both Laurel and Moira's spine; they each could see that Helena was not good for Oliver. Already, he had come so far away from just doing his father's bidding, and this woman was a mirror image of who Oliver had been the day he had arrived back from the Island. 

_The scene changed to SCPD, where Hilton was briefing Lance on the latest Bertinelli family murders._

_"CSU didn't find any usable prints except for the 3 victims." He said, handing the file to Lance. "One of them had a GSW to the chest."_

_"So who broke the necks of Salvati and his buddy?" Lance asked rhetorically._

_Hilton sighed. "Look, it's been a while since The Hood broke anyone's neck. And I didn't see any arrows lying around."_

_"We better pray that Frank Bertinelli blames The Hood for this." Lance said darkly. "'Cause if he thinks it's the Triad, Starling City is ground zero to World War III."_  
  
"Without the arrows, no one is going to blame the Hood," Laurel frowned.

"One could only hope," Quentin sighed. "The city will be torn apart if he doesn't consider it."

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. There was a knock on the door, and she opened it to find a dejected Tommy Merlyn standing in the hallway._

_"You okay?" she asked._

_Tommy sighed. "I spoke to my dad today."_

_"I bet that was fun." She quipped as Tommy came in._

_"He explained to me what happened with my credit card yesterday." He began. "And my checking account, my savings account, my brokerage account, my stock portfolio." He sighed, dropping down onto her sofa. "He cut me off completely."_  
  
"Some of that money was mine," Tommy growled. "I made it."

"From my money," Malcolm reminded gently. "This is for your own good." 

_"What?" she exclaimed softly, sitting next to him._

_"My car got repossessed." He continued. "That was fun. Oh, and I have to move out of my apartment by the end of the month."_

_Laurel took a hold of his hand. "You are gonna be fine, Tommy." She promised him. "In fact, you are gonna be great. Merlyn money or not." She smiled. "And you know, I have a mushroom and olive Mario pizza in my refrigerator waiting to be eaten."_

_Tommy smiled back. "I suppose it's already paid for, right?"_

_"Exactly." She agreed.  
_  
"Thank you," Tommy said reluctantly to Laurel.

"You'll be fine," she said, repeating her memory version's words. "You always find a way." She was grateful for the change of what people were arguing over. Between this or Thea's parentage, the fact Tommy's father was being himself was something less surprising for everyone to bicker over. 

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Walter walked into the bedroom silently, going over to the bed and sitting down on the edge, stroking his sleeping wife's hair. Moira awoke and looked up in surprise._  
  
Moira smiled, and while Thea was not on talking terms just yet, it warmed her to see the happiness on her mother's face. She had been terrified for a bit there she was going to lose another father… then again, her gaze unknowingly sought out Malcolm, who was focused solely on the screen.

_"When did you get back?" she asked._

_"Just now."_

_Moira sat up in bed. "I'm so happy to see you." She said softly. "But did you come home only because you heard I was hurt?"_

_"No. I was already on my way when Thea called. I actually came home because I miss my wife."_

_"Ohh." Moira kissed him, and he held her tight._  
  
Malcolm silently hoped that while Walter was away the man learned to stay out of the Undertaking's business. The last thing he wanted to do was remove another one of Moira's husbands, but he couldn't risk it. It was becoming blatantly obvious that in his plan to cleanse the city he hadn't considered a few factors- the Lances, Walter, the triad… Oliver's return. These were things he would have to rectify if he wanted to move forward uninterrupted in his plans

_"It's okay." He assured her. Outside the door, Oliver looked in, satisfied that his mother was alright. He moved away from the door to give them privacy, and spotted Thea walking towards him._

_"Is she all right?" she asked._

_"Walter's home." He whispered, smiling. "She's gonna be fine."_

_Thea smiled awkwardly. "Look, I'm sorry if I was a bitch with you earlier."_  
  
"An apology?" Tommy joked. "That's a first."

Thea didn't respond to the jab, but she did smile unwillingly.

_"There were a few times. Could you be more specific?" he joked._

_Thea laughed lightly. "Don't push it."_

_"Don't worry. You weren't a bitch." He paused. "At the hospital you were a little." he held up his fingers a small distance apart. "A little bit."_

_"Look, I'm just worried about you." She said. "You seem really lonely. And we all have our secrets, Ollie. Clearly you have yours. And it's fine if you don't want to share them with us, but I just really think you should share them with someone." She kissed him on the cheek and moved on, leaving Oliver with his thoughts.  
_  
Every person considered their own secrets for a moment. However, only four truly considered the significance of what their secret would mean if it was said… the Undertaking… the League of Assassins… Oliver's death… the promise. No one knew how many of their secrets actually overlapped and that they all played towards what had led them to this moment- to watching the memories. 

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli House. Helena was just coming out of the bathroom in a robe, her hair wet from a shower, when she paused. "I'd ask how you got in here," she said, "but the Starling City vigilante comes and goes as he pleases, doesn't he?"_  
  
Usually Malcolm liked to be right, but in this situation, he hoped he wasn't.

_Across the room Oliver stood, looking out a window. "How'd you know?"_

_Helena crossed her arms. "I saw you fight. And I saw your eyes. That island changed you in ways that only someone like me could understand."_

_"No." he denied. "What you're doing right now, I know that if feels like justice, but it's not. It's revenge."_

_"Sometimes revenge is justice." Helena stated._  
  
Both Malcolm and Slade could agree to that. There were people that didn't deserve mercy, and they only deserved death. Quentin, on the other hand, only saw a murderer. He wasn't sure who deserved to be thrown into a cell quicker- Helena or Oliver- at this point. 

_"Your father killed your fiancé."_

_"And what did your father do to you?" she demanded. "Isn't the man in the hood fighting to set things right? Why is your vendetta more valid than mine? We're the same, you and I."_

_"No, we're not."_

_Helena scoffed. "Hiding in plain sight. Concealing our anger with smiles and lies." Tears pooled in her eyes. "Don't lie to me, Oliver. You feel the same as I do, I know it."_

_"Why are you crying?"_

_"I don't know. Maybe it's because I have been alone in my hate for so long, it feels—"_

_"It feels so good to tell the truth." Oliver finished for her. Almost in desperation he reached for her, pulling her in close and kissing her. After a moment, she responded, clutching him to her tightly, afraid to let go._  
  
"Glad he found someone," Thea muttered, "but I don't think that's who I exactly meant."

"She's going to get him killed," Laurel groaned, feeling a speck of jealousy.

"No I don't," Helena stated standing to stretch her muscles. "I actually have nothing to do with how he dies." She did wonder if she had been there, in Starling, when all hell broke loose if she could have helped to change how things would have turned out. Then again, the League were not easily deterred, and very few could combat them directly. She was skilled, but at the time of the siege, she would not have been able to combat a majority of the assassins that had been in the city. 

"How does he die?" Thea asked quietly. Slade was curious about the answer and listened intently. 

Helena frowned and tried to think back on what Artemis had said she could and could not say. "By doing what your brother does best… saving people who don't deserve it." Like Malcolm Merlyn… half of Starling City… herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Sorry this took a while. Exams, exams, exams (and one more exam to be fun). I'm not in love with this chapter only because it did take so long, but it is practically a two-parter with the following episode.  
> And who expects Slade to continue to sit quietly? Because I have very little faith in his honor with mirakuru in his veins…

**Author's Note:**

> Full Summary: In the near distant future, Thea Queen has exhausted all possibilities and has come to the final conclusion that the only way to save her brother is to change the past. Bringing Malcolm, Moira, Slade, Tommy, Laurel, Quentin, and her younger self from a few months prior to Oliver’s rescue to the future, Thea hopes she can fix her mistakes, save an old friend’s life, and protect her brother’s soul.  
> Unbeknownst to her and the Justice League, Oliver is not a fool and knows exactly what his sister is planning. As the new Ra’s Al Ghul, Oliver will do everything in his power to now stop his once family.
> 
> Warnings: Currently a high T for violence, and a quick heads up. Oliver in this future is not the Oliver we all love from the show. He has spent years under the old Ra’s Al Ghul being broken of his old ways and retrained. I won’t go as far to say he’s evil, but his restraint has all but dissipated. 
> 
> Note: No I have not given up Valkyrie, but as I stated, the new season has thrown off my story line. I figured writing this was better than leaving no update to anything whatsoever.


End file.
